Ever Been in a Glass Box for Seventy Years? (The Femme Fatale)
by agentfatale
Summary: A veteran, an experiment of the past, and Captain America's lesser-known predecessor. A runaway that creeps back into the dark depths of S.H.I.E.L.D. and all of its madness. It's been 70 years since she's been in the race. Is she still the same experiment of Erskine's? WIP
1. Chapter 1: Commence

**January, 2014**

Nick Fury narrowed his eye and slammed his fist down on the table where the folder was.

"Is there a specific reason why we're not onto her case any closer and why there is no update on her?" He barks, voice resonating through the whole room.

"Again, Fury. She's impossible. I've only seen her once and that was when I woke up from a nap. Do you think anyone can get her if Romanoff can't?" Tony snaps, his dark circles down to his chin.

"I'm sure the _Avengers _can do better than this." Fury hisses.

"Sir, I've never even caught a single glimpse of her, never mind had a chance to move at this situation." Captain says, speaking up for the first time.

"I've seen no reading of her and from what Mr. Stark has described to me, she seems almost surreal and ghostly." Bruce adds.

"That's really the only explanation, sir." Natasha says.

"So you all are saying that she's a damn ghost? Not gonna cut it. She's been doing things that no one has ever done before; fighting crime like none of you ever have. None of us, not even the public has seen her in action, but we know she's there."

"How do we know she's even here and not a hallucination?" Tony inquires, upset.

"If you were here at our _last _briefing, Tony, you would know that she wiped out the entire Circus of Crime when they had five different cities under hostage. Not to mention she killed Carnage the moment we were onto him after his latest attack on Barton." Hawkeye grunted in response, clearly unhappy.

"She's one heck of a person." Tony concedes.

"One that we could use in our team. Imagine the missions after recruitment! We could easily take down more questionable enemies with her ways."

"I certainly hope you're not questioning our abilities, Nick Fury." Thor says carefully, letting the words roll of off his tongue slowly.

"Not at all, my dear god." Fury says, chuckling a bit. "If I want it, then I must have it." He explains, a content look on his face.

A sudden siren and flashing red lights got the attention of the rest of them as agents stormed the room with weapons in their hands and with Dr. Banner suddenly on the floor before he could react, knocked out cold.

"Banner!" Thor calls, in spite of all chaos.

Tony was soon in his suit, then on the ground, out cold like Dr. Banner. His suit shut off with him and Fury was on guard. Clint fell to the floor unconscious and Thor followed seconds after. Agents began to fall, and within the time span of a short minute, Fury was left standing by himself. He suddenly felt arms on his shoulders and spun around, shooting whatever was behind him.

"If you want me, Mr. Fury, sir, then you must come get me." A voice said, light and airy.

"What do you want?" Fury asks, steel within his voice.

"I only want Captain Rogers." she says, giggling before her presence disappeared. Dr. Banner stirred and coughed, looking around.

"What happened?" He questions, looking at the fallen bodies around him. The beings got up in the order they fell unconscious, wondering what had just occurred.

"Check the security cameras now. Check all systems whether or not they were hacked. Check everything. NOW." Fury shouts.

"God damn it." Stark grumbles. "JARVIS!" he shouts, struggling inside the metal suit. The system kicked on and he was on his feet, and the suit flew away.

"What the hell just happened?" Hawkeye questions, raising an eyebrow after everyone sat down again.

"Sir, we've double, triple checked all of our systems and there was no signs of hacking or damage done. All of our cameras cut off at 21:00, just five minutes before our security alarms were set off." an agent states, handing Fury reports.

"All of them?" Fury questions angrily. The agent nods and pauses as she gets something on her headset and runs off.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have just experienced who we identify as _The Femme Fatale._"


	2. Chapter 2: Finally

"So we're doing what now?" Clint asks, looking around at his team.

"There are things we must accomplish together before we can successfully capture The Femme Fatale, and they involve all of your cooperation." Director Fury emphasizes, staring at Tony.

"I'm offended," Tony huffs. He laughed and slouched in his chair. "No, I'm actually not. I'll cooperate."

"This involves a great deal of Captain Rogers', though. And we'll only go forward with it if he agrees." Director states, shifting his attention over to the man in the star spangled suit.

"I'm willing to do anything." The man in question says.

"Then I have a plan."

"Finally. After six damn months." Tony grumbles, throwing his hands up.

**February, 2014**

"Captain, I do believe you are planning something evil." The voice sighs, surrounding Rogers.

"I don't understand, Fatale." He says, leaning back against the chair.

"I know you all plan to trap me tonight. I suppose I'll unveil myself tonight, hmm, soldier?"

"I guess so, Fatale." The Captain chuckles.

There was soon a young girl next to him, maybe about 18. Rogers swallowed nervously and looked over at her smile.

"It's nice to meet you in person, Fatale." He murmurs, extending a hand towards her. She gripped his hand firmly, the smile never leaving her face.

"My pleasure, Captain Rogers." She placed her hands on her lap and soon a fire headed woman came over swiftly, handcuffing her and tying her to the chair she was sitting in. Fatale looked down at the specialized handcuffs, noticing how they wouldn't let her dissipate. They paralyzed her powers.

"Damn it," she mutters to herself. "So you caught me, Mr. Nick Fury, hmm? I suppose you and your league of Avengers can finally have me." She looked at everyone dead in the eye as they stepped into the room, reading them carefully.

"It's been a wild chase, Miss Fatale. I hope you realize that."

"Oh I know. I thought, 'Why not? I have nothing to lose after being alone since what, World War I as they call it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Oh how things have changed, hmm? Now, will you let me off of these shackles and release me from my confines?" Fury looked at her carefully.

"I won't do anything to hurt you all. You all have my word and I'm not one to let down anyone." Romanoff released her from the chair and she stood, sighing before raising an eyebrow at Fury. "What have you got in store for me, Mr. Fury?"

"A spot in the middle of the Avengers team. With the work that you've done, it would be a shame not to have you with us from hence forth."

"Mm, but will you be able to put up with me?" She chuckles, a sly smirk upon her lips.

"We've dealt with Tony's antics, and I'm sure he's far worse than you could ever be." Fury chuckles, though dead serious.

"Screw you, Cyclops." Tony spits.

Fatale turned and grinned at the man. "It's nice to meet you, _Mr. Stark._" she greets, the name rolling off of her tongue smoother than velvet as she stuck her icy cold hand out.

Tony closed his eyes and took in a breath before opening his eyes and returning the smile and the shake.

"It's my pleasure, Miss Fatale." He suddenly hissed, and everyone looked down to see Tony's hand blue and icy. Fatale chuckled and the hand was soon back to normal, then as red as a tomato (to which Tony squeaked), and back to normal before she let go. She stared into the Captain's eyes for a moment before turning back to Nick.

"Glad you've begun to acquaint yourself with the team. He deserved it. Welcome to the team, Miss Femme Fatale. We've been awaiting your arrival." Nick Fury says, holding out his hand.

"Oh, you still trust me on a handshake after what I've done to Mr. Stark?" she questions, a hint of something in her voice.

"I trust my team, and you are a part of my team, Miss Fatale." She returned the handshake with no tricks or problems.

"Good luck."

"I do believe that you'll be needing all the luck you can get, since you have chosen to deal with me, Mr. Fury. And please, call me Lucy."

"Agent Romanoff, would you please show Miss Lucy to her new suite? It should be in between Captain Rogers's and Tony's."

"Why, of course." She turned to the new recruitment and smiled. Lucy returned the favor with just as much charm and charisma.

"Shall we, my dear?"

"Please lead the way, agent." The two seemed to strut out of the room when the recruitment disappeared.

"She's good." Tony mumbles.

"Why, thank you, Mr. Stark. I should be out sometime to become familiar with my team." a voice says, startling everyone including Loki and Fury. Dr. Banner just laughed and followed (now) the two ladies, taking off his lab coat as he yawned.

"Now, Lucy, I must admit, it was a long and difficult road to get you here." Natasha says, a smile and amusement tinting her voice.

"It was an amusing one for myself, actually."

"You'll have to explain to me how you managed to escape Fury's efforts."

"I'll be more than happy to chat." Lucy says, glancing at Romanoff.

"You know, the rest of the team usually has a bonding session on Friday nights."

"Oh do they now? And all of them happen to put in the effort to participate?"

"They do, amusingly enough. Even Tony Stark has to relax somehow."

"I suppose that does make sense."

Soon they reached the room in the other building; it was a huge suite, boring and bland in contrast to say the Captain's or Stark's. A king-sized bed was in the back of the room, a vanity, a closet, a bathroom, and all the essentials.

"We didn't get an interior designer in just yet, sinc-"

"It's wonderful. Thank you, agent. It means a lot even for me to get a suite, never mind get an interior designer."

"Please, call me Natasha. Now I do have some business to tend to; don't be afraid to find me or talk to the others if you have any questions or need any help."

And with that, she left. Lucy stepped into the room, taking the time to look around and to examine. Minutes passed and the other members began to come down to their suites to get changed. There was three knocks on the door and Lucy vanished out of habit, looking to see who it was through her changed form.

"It's Steve, no need to vanish." he laughs.

She changed form in the hidden corner of the room and walked into the Captain's line of sight.

"Good evening, Miss Fatale." Captain greets.

"Good evening it is, Captain. Please, call me Lucy."

"And you, I am Steve. Or Rogers." He took a look at her suite. "Did you need any help moving anything?"

The girl shook her head no. "I should be fine, Mr. Rogers."

He smiled at the formality. "Do you mind if I come in to chat in a couple of minutes?"

"Only if you're alright with me disappearing every now and then." Steve flashed her a smile and disappeared into his suite while Tony came out of his as he brushed his teeth.

"Wow. How...white it is in here. How's it settling, Lucy?" He asks.

"Very well. Thank you for asking, Mr. Stark."

"Whoa, not so formal there, pretty girl. Speaking of which, you seem a bit, young to be so successful. I mean, I wa-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Mr. Stark," she cuts off, as she picks up her bed with two hands and watching the man's eyes widen. "But I am celebrating my 100th birthday this year."

Captain walked by and stood next to Tony, his eyes just a bit wider than the other's. She set the bed down in the hidden corner where it was a perfect fit. Lucy walked into their line of sight.

"B-but you look like you're 18!" Tony gasps.

"I stopped aging during the middle of Worl...never mind. But I am turning 100 this year."

"But Cyclops is only a decade or two older than you and he looks like he's forty!"

"Your point Mr. Stark? Oh, come in, Mr. Rogers; make yourself comfortable." Tony left to change and Steve came in, sitting on the arm chair.

"So 100-years-old, huh?"

Lucy turned and smiled. "Indeed, Mr. Rogers. Oh, excuse me for a moment." She dissipated into the air and Steve blinked, looking around the room. She was suddenly back, and a table appeared, and the room had personal aspects scattered on the floor.

"Well I messed that one up." she grumbles, picking up a shattered picture frame. "Ah, it was old anyway." She looked at Captain.

"You seem so out of it, Mr. Rogers. Why?" He looked confused for a moment. "Did I happen to do this? The mission to try and get me here was a long and difficult one. I can tell you need a moment to recoup."

"You're spot on, Miss Lucy."

"Even a super soldier needs a bit of a break." She says, smiling as the belongings disappeared before appearing on her vanity.

She glared and cursed at herself on the inside before fixing a few photos and disappearing. She appeared once again and with a large simple desk; it looked like a long table, only with drawers on each end along with a chair with wheels. Everything in the room was white.

"How did you survive World War I and II?" Steve suddenly asks.

Lucy didn't let her guard down, not even pausing or stiffening as she rolled the chair to the desk and set the other table in front of the armchair he was sitting in.

"I did what I needed to." She said curtly.

The Captain didn't press it, satisfied with her answer as she shuffled papers on the desk.

"So we're having bonding night in a few minutes. It would be really nice if you sat with us." Steve says, smiling as he stood.

Lucy looked over and smiled, nodding. He left the room, satisfied, leaving her alone. She looked upon her vanity, then up at the mirror, only seeing failure.

Biting back the tears, she stepped out of the room to visit Fury and speak with him.

"Oh, hey, Lucy! Are you going to join us?" Hawkeye calls.

She turned and saw everyone there: Loki, Thor, Romanoff, Rogers, Stark, Barton, Banner.

"I may." she murmurs, looking forward again and heading down a flight of stairs...or three. She lost count after a while.

"Fury, we need to speak of some matters."

"Oh good, I was going to ask for you. Please, sit." She sat down in front of him and looked around nervously at the cameras and the other agents.

"Would you pre-"

"If you don't mind."

She followed him into his office and began. "Thank you, first of all, for the suite. But if you wouldn't mind, I would like to request for my window to be filled."

"I can do that for you as soon as you begin training tomorrow."

"I'd like to tell you about myself. I know you have no files on record of me, at all on the surface of the earth, and it may be helpful to you if you knew things that the others didn't."

He seemed intrigued.

"Please, begin."


	3. Chapter 3: Operation Fatale

**February 2014**

"I was born in 1914, just at the beginning of World War I. I was injected a test serum, after my mother needed money to support us. The serum caused me to mature overnight, into the person you see today. I was 18 at the age of one; had the brain function, emotional capacity, physical capacity, everything. But the serum went wrong and I had the ability to do what I do today: disappear when I want, disable what I want, and the strength I have. I have the ability to control molecules at my command, whether it be forcing them into what I want, or for me to complete dissipate into the air, and then come back within a matter of seconds.

"The government found out, and they sent me to enemy lines, acting as a. . . .girl to seduce the men and to kill them all. The government didn't protect me though. I was young, naive, and I didn't know any better. During World War II, my efforts were covered up by Captain America. And might I add, Captain Rogers was the one who got the second strain of the serum I received years back. They modified it, tested it. It worked and so it was time for the birth of Captain America. While I worked behind the scenes killing thousands of men, he saved hundreds, maybe. No one bothered to spare me a glance and Femme Fatale lived as a few quadrillion molecules in the air. I have a very similar story to Captain, only I didn't freeze. I was kidnapped, given chloroform. Anytime I happen to be sleeping or out, I healed, and I became molecules in the air.

"They put me in a glass box and left me there until 1999. Someone knocked the box down and broke it, releasing me. I flew out of the government lab and so Femme Fatale was back, only I happened to break into the Avengers systems to read about your villains. Your forgotten and slowly rising enemies were taken out by me, and considered a natural death on your part. The government soon found out about my disappearing, Operation Fatale...and they found out just recently so I've been on the chase ever since."

"Why did you want Captain Rogers?"

"I wanted him to feel the pain of being ignored. He was found, and is still considered a hero, while I? I am nothing. I am a government lab rat that ran away. I would be frowned upon for doing what I did."

She stood and looked into Fury's eye. "Mr. Nick Fury, if you ever happen to slip out what I've told you to anyone before I ready myself to tell them, be aware that you may never see your Avengers again." She turned and left the room, only leaving behind her sweet scent and an agonizing story of an ignored hero.

By the time she reached the last flight of stairs up to the living quarters, she dissipated into the molecules, and flew back into the room to listen to them talk at least.

"She's pretty." Barton says.

"Pretty mysterious. Like she's hiding something." If molecules could smile, she would be doing so.

"I think she'll be useful, honestly."

"I saw her move a California king sized bed with two hands. Spangles here can back me up." Tony says.

"I feel like she's a war hero of some sort. I don't know, but I feel like I've heard her name once or twice back during WWII." Captain Rogers says.

"I don't know why her name is Femme Fatale, because she looks like an innocent 18-year-old."

"But she's already 100-years-old this year."

"The maiden is a century old?" Thor questions.

Lucy turned into Fatale, sitting on the couch behind pajama-clad Thor. "Indeed I am, Mr. Odinson."

Everyone jumped at her sudden appearance.

"Told you guys you would have to deal with my antics." She says.

She smiled. "Talking about me, hmm?"

"We were, actually, if you didn't get to hear all of it."

"No, I did. Did you guys start at Mr. Barton saying that I was pretty?"

The man in question blushed and looked away. They laughed and she smiled, crossing her arms.

"What were you doing, living back in World War I?" Steve asks suddenly.

Lucy looked over at him. "Being like any other young child. Running around, having fun." she explained, the lies flowing out so smoothly.

"When did you stop aging?"

"A little while ago."

"How can you disappear so quickly?"

"I just can."

"How do you put us out cold?"

"Easily."

"How long have you been fighting crime?"

"For as long as I have been."

"And how long is that?"

"Very long."

Captain sighed at her words, giving up. But Tony wasn't done.

"What kind of technology do you keep to yourself?"

"None."

"How often do you fight crime?"

"As often as needed."

"How long have you been tracking the Avengers?"

"I haven't been."

"Have you ever received training?"

"Depends on what you consider training."

"What have you been doing for the past few decades?"

"Nothing."

"Why did you begin fighting?"

"It was called for."

"What's your weakness?"

"Everything."

"Ever worked for the government? Are you clean? Are you spying on us?"

"One at a time, Mr. Stark, if you wouldn't mind."

"Ever worked for the government?"

"Everyone does."

"Are you clean?"

"Is anyone clean, Mr. Stark?"

"Are you spying on us?"

"I am not a spy, Mr. Stark."

"You're a good girl, you know that, Lucy?"

She chuckled bitterly. "I'm not what everyone thinks I am, Mr. Stark. The one thing I can tell you is that I'm filthier than you are, Mr. Tony Stark."

He smirked at her words as she cocked her head with a smile, disappearing once more. Once inside her room, she closed the door, locked it, shut the curtains and switched on her galaxy projector before changing out of her uniform into a pair of sweatpants and a tank top.

Yawning, she looked at the inside of her wrist, staring at the scars that laced the skin.

Three knocks on her door startled her, causing her to dissipate into the air habitually before recognizing Banner's voice. "Gramps, Tin Man, and Big Bird wanted to say good night, Lucy! They were just pus-hey stop that, Tin Man!"

"God damn it, Banner, it's-"

"Night, Lucy."

She smiled at Romanoff's calm voice and collapsed onto her bed. Snuggling under the covers, she prayed that she wouldn't fall asleep today, afraid that she would get trapped into another box.

She reached under her bed for some devices she hid, pulling one out as she listened to Tony's choice of metal music. Whirring the contraption to life, she held it against the wall, a circular hole made within seconds.

"What the-Fatale? What are you doing?" Stark questions, examining the hole made. "How did you do that?"

"I have my ways." Lucy chuckles. "I wanted to say good night."

"Well gee, didn't Banner do that for us already?" Tony's tone was teasing and light hearted.

"I never got to respond. Good night, Mr. Stark."

"Good night, Lucy."


	4. Chapter 4: Conflicts

**Still February, 2014**

The next morning, they began analysis of Fatale's fighting techniques, complete with molecular movement trackers.

"So basically," Dr. Banner begins, going through the chart as she takes a drag from a water bottle. "This is basically your best point; here is..."

HYDRA battle simulations were put up for all seven of them, and each had their weaknesses improve and strengthen. The following three days went on like this, until the fourth day, where they focused on endurance training.

Training was never easy for any of them, and even Lucy thought it a challenge for the first time in her life. The fifth day was spent in the mat room where they worked on flexibility, but mostly just with the punching bags. Here she learned how this room was normally used; the team came in one at a time (with the norm being that no one fell in sync with each other's frustrations) and let go of the grudges they've held onto.

**POV Change, LATE February, 2014**: I stood in front of the sandbag, bandages wrapped around my knuckles for protection. Every emotion was poured into my punches and kicks. Captain paused to look over and furrowed his brows as she watched. The others joined and Fury stepped in to tell us of news when he froze in his spot as Captain spoke.

"What's got you so upset?" He asks me, stepping around to hold my bag in place.

"Nothing." I huff.

"Oh come on. There must be a reason why you're punching a hole into that poor plastic." Tony says breathlessly.

Captain murmurs, "You're a special one, Fatale. I hope you realize that." I growled.

"I am a government runaway lab rat. Why can't you understand that, Rogers?" I ask breathlessly, the whole team and Fury watching me.

Captain let go and I sent the punching bag flying across the room, furious.

"You're a hero, Fatale. You were born to fight. Born to save."

"I was made, subjected to do this. No more, no less."

"I highly doubt that, Fatale."

"You want the truth? I'll give you all of it, soldier. I was subjected to testing for money. I was given a test serum once in 1915, once more in 1941. The first concoction made me able to dissipate into a few quadrillion molecules, and to control all molecules with mind control. They sent me over enemy lines, seducing the hallucinating and drowsy soldiers before killing them. I had the power to control how fast their molecules moved, and turned them into nothing in an instant." I murmur, picking at the bandages around my knuckles.

"I was only one at the time. But I matured and developed into an 18 year old overnight, having the full capacity of an average adult. I was mentally, physically, emotionally, intellectually an adult at the age of one. In 1941, they needed me again, after hiding me in their controlled facilities, as a part of a secret operation that not even the president knew of." I looked at Captain Rogers and narrowed my eyes.

"They injected me with your super soldier serum, modified and morphed into one much like estrogen and testosterone combined along with the super soldier capabilities. It soon regulated my hormonal activities and embedded itself into me. But that strain caused me to turn into molecules when I slept, or was unconscious. I was never together in the mornings, and it became a panic." I sighed and leaned against a wall before staring at Rogers.

"And you know what, Rogers? What they gave you was what they gave me the first time. It went wrong the first time, so they fixed it, and tested it on me again before giving it to you so you wouldn't get killed." I hiss as his eyes widen.

"I went behind enemy lines and killed thousands of men, while their government believed they were MIA or had committed mutiny. I killed them all. All of them.

"Red Skull found out about me, and got men to sedate me and seal me into a box. It was rattled in '98, and I woke up thinking it was going to open, but it didn't until '99 when a hasty government researcher knocked the box over. It broke and I was released, awaken again. And I've been on their secret most wanted list, and I guess I was on yours too, after you discovered the aftermath of my work." I paused, shaking my head.

"I was created and subjected. I was a lab rat, twice. I killed thousands of men, and saved thousands of men. I hid behind your shadow, Rogers. I did a lot of dirty work that I'm ashamed and guilty of. It's never going to go away and the fact that no one bothered to spare a single glance towards me because they were busy with you makes me want to go back to those times and just decline the offer when it was first made."

Fury opened his mouth and I waved my hand. "Save it, Fury. Go on, tell me that I'm a selfish bastard; see if I care. I have some business to take care of so if you would excuse me." I murmur as I rip off the bandage on my knuckles and dissipate.

"I know you're still here, Lucy. Just don't do anything stupid." Fury sighs. I hesitated to speak.

I compacted back into Fatale, though I felt like Lucy before I became Fatale. I groaned as I walked down the street in sweats and a tank top, cursing myself for not wearing something else. But after all, I was training. I need air. I need sea air. I stopped and looked around, taking in my surroundings before continuing on. I turned into an alley and dissipated, moving quickly towards the coastline. I have to get away. I'm going to suffocate.

I sped up and moved closer to the sun in order to do so, being a rather cold day for molecular travel. I chuckled to myself and looked down around me to check where I was going. I soon heard a continuous whooshing sound as I continued, and I looked back to see what was up.

"WHAT THE-STARK?!" I shout, voice resonating throughout the air.

I heard his deep rumble of laughter and if my eyes were intact, I would have rolled them.

"I wanted to see where you were huffing off to." He explains.

"Why...how did you find me?"

"I had a system put in so I could find your molecules and such." Tony elaborates.

Another sound more sonorous came to me, and I looked around, soon spotting the Asgardian and his brother (_huh_?) hanging onto his leg for dear life.

"Thor! Loki! What are you doing up here?!"

"I happened to be interested in where the fair maiden was travelling to. Speaking of which, where are you going?"

"Coastline." I shout.

Once I caught sight of the coastline, I made my way downwards, Stark and Thor following with me.

Thor landed with a loud crash into the water with poor Loki and Tony landed in his suave manner on the sand. Forming back into Fatale and feeling like young Lucy, I sat down on the sand, taking in a deep breath.

"What business were you going to take care of?" Tony asks, setting the iron head down in the sand as Thor took a seat next to me while Loki stared out at the ocean.

"I had some unfinished business with HYDRA."

"Sorry?!"

"I've been a few deals with them for a little while to keep them at bay. You guys looked like you had enough on your hands anyway."

"How is that coming along?"

"It's dirty work, Tony. None of it is fun." I looked over at Thor and slapped the space between us.

"How are you doing these days, mister?"

He looked surprised that I even addressed him. "I leave in a few days for Asgard, since we will be nearly done with your training."

"It's not even training. It's like you slapping the snot out of a punching bag and throwing weights around." Tony teases, nudging me.

"You're just envious, Stark."

"Who the hell says 'envious' these days, granny?"

"The granny that can kick you into space."

Thor laughed and shook his head before getting serious. "Does the Captain bother you, Lucy?"

"Quite a lot, actually. There are things I've seen and done in my life that ought to scar everyone, yet he acts like I'm nothing." I answer, looking over at the god.

I raised my eyebrows, taking notice of Loki. "Is he here to visit?" I ask.

Thor glanced back and shrugged. "Thought he should come along for the ride. He's been asking about you."

Loki came over and stood behind us, looking in wonder at the sights.

Stark and Thor looked at me suspiciously before Thor asked another question. "What do you think about Captain, truthfully?"

"I can't let you know of that, Thor," I say, shrugging. "He is only the shadow that has hidden my presence."

I swallowed my feelings and stood, dusting myself off. "Will you walk with me?" I said to no one in particular, the feeling of emptiness soon overcoming me.

I began to walk along the shoreline and Tony joined to my right, Thor to my left, Loki behind us.

"Do you ever think about your past?" Tony asks.

"All the time." I sighed, letting myself answer the questions like normal Lucy would.

"What happened to your friends and family?"

I hesitated, sighing before beginning. "My friends...my girl friends lived the American dream. They got married, had their honeymoon, had kids, a beautiful house, pets. It was all so wonderful for them. I never heard them complain about their lives but I remember they wondered what happened to me...crying and worrying. My family assumed I was killed by the government. After the first test, the government didn't let me go home but sent pension back to my family, fortunately. I never watched over them, but I...I always heard my mother crying when I was on my molecular travel sessions throughout the neighborhood." I laughed bitterly, shaking away the past.

"I didn't bother to make any friends after the second experiment. I refuse to let myself go through the pain again...of loving and losing."

"Well we _are_ your companions, Lucy. Friends, as you call them." Thor offers.

"No. No. I can't let it happen. You'll all leave me before I know it and I'll be left in the air. I can't."

"Bu-"

"Don't argue with me."

Tony sighed before moving onto another question. "Is it too early for me to ask about Rogers?"

"Much too early."

Questions kept coming, and Lucy never left during our four hours at the beach.

**POV Change**

We headed back to HQ at ten, where Fury was absolutely furious. A verbal beating ensued and I took the blame, promising some harder work done tomorrow.

Once the clock hit 1AM, I stepped into the shared living room, looking out on the skyline. Lights glimmered, cars whizzed by, and the city never slept.

Memories of the past came rushing at me, filling my head with endless mini films of things that I had tucked away for so long. My head pounded and I let them continue, the pain growing worse and worse by the minute, by the second.

"Can't sleep either?"

The velvety voice had shivers sent down my spine and I nodded silently.

"You shouldn't be awake at such an ungodly hour, soldier. What's up inside that head of yours?" I ask, looking over at the Captain.

"A little nightmare got me going." He murmurs as I notice the gleam of sweat on his forehead.

He looked to be in a bit of distress, fazed...so unlike what he usually seems to be. I sighed and leaned into the breeze coming in from the open window.

"Lucy..." he murmurs. I looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Why do you hate me so dearly?" He sounded hurt; hell, he even looked hurt. Every molecule in my being wanted to hug him, but Fatale refused.

I laughed bitterly. "I don't hate you. I'm surprised you still talk to me after my outburst. I apologize for that."

"It happens. But if you don't hate me, then why do you act so cold to me? You're cold and mysterious to everyone, but with me...you seem like you want to kill me or something."

I laughed. "You got that part correct."

"Excuse me?"

"Alright, so maybe it's not that strong anymore."

"Will you please tell me what has gotten you to dislike me so much?"

Captain Rogers' words rang in my ears and I looked into his eyes. They sparkled with something I couldn't recognize. Or maybe I couldn't recognize it after being trained to recognize only certain things, a-

"Lucy?" I blinked and snapped out of my trance.

"You alright there? Okay, good. Now will you tell me what is making you so upset at me?"

I scoffed. "I can't believe you have the audacity to even ask me that, Rogers."

"Was it because I took the fame that you so deserved?"

I narrowed my eyes, hearing the snark in his voice. "I don't deserve a single ounce of fame, Rogers, and neither do you. I don't appreciate the fact that we're both the same thing, lab rats, and yet you treat me like you're all so high and mighty. Everyone else is so much better than the both of us, yet they don't treat me the way you do. Bruce is a genius and Tony is a genius on a different level. Clint is a skilled assassin and Thor is an almighty god. Natasha is damn so close to perfection and though everyone says you are, you definitely aren't.

"I'm not close to perfect, not anything close to what you are, _Captain. _I'm not bitter because I didn't get any of your damned _fame. _I'm bitter because I was covered up within your shadow, and now here I am again, decades later, hidden and being told what to do. You know what? I'm just done with this. I thought I could do just fine ignoring your presence but it looks like I can't work in a team. Wow, it's a new record; I've only been here for a week and a half but I've lasted longer than I thought I would. Especially not in one that you run, _Captain. _I quit. I resign. I'm leaving. Make sure to let Fury know about that in the morning when I'm missing in action, soldier." I hiss.

The lights turned on and there stood the rest of our team, Fury staring angrily at the both of us.

"Oh hey, I'll save the burden of telling him for you," I say, glaring at Rogers. "I'm resigning, Fury. I can't be a part of this team when my Captain looks down at me and hides me in his damn shadow like he used to. I'm done, and I can't work in this team. I'll make sure my stuff is dissipated by morning and that my files are dissipated too."

"The world needs you, _Fatale. _Do you realize that?" Fury asks, surprisingly calm.

"This team sure doesn't. And I won't stay where I'm not needed."

I dissipated into the air before the chaos ensued, blame games being played as I escaped out the open window. I slipped around the building and into my room, turning everything into molecules and particles before forcing them into the closet. I paused, listening to the team talk without Fury.

"You must have been very unmannered with Lucy. She really did put up with quite a bit, Captain Rogers."

The clock struck two in the morning and I left as the others stepped into my room to check if I was still here. Flying myself through the frigid air, I soon got to the coastline and began to walk along the shoreline, shoes in hand. It was a rather cold July night, and I was glad I took a jacket.

The ocean water lapped at my feet, a freezing 30°F, I guessed, but the chill in my heart made me numb. I'm not a hero, a heroine, made to save, born to save. I was a regular person, only I was messed up. _Seriously_ messed up. I wasn't a somebody like Tony or a god like Thor or perfect like Natasha. I didn't belong there at all. Captain was a widely recognized hero and even he belonged there. I belong in the little home I was in, I belong _not_ in that team. I was meant to fight on my own, and meant to fight the bad guys quietly. I was mea-

"Oof!"

A sudden impact knocked me onto my back, a hefty man staring down at me as he hovered over me. I blinked some senses back into me and looked at the man's face, about ready to kill him.

"_Steve?_"


	5. Chapter 5: Training a Hero

**Still Late-February, 2014**

Captain Rogers heard the whole story. The beach, the story from Loki, only the latter skipped out on her true feelings. Just to protect her for a little while. Loki had taken a small liking to her and felt she didn't deserve so much stress all at once.

"Go, Steve." Bruce insists, urgency in his voice. "We can't lose her now."

"Jarvis?"

"_Yes, sir?_"

"Where do you track Lucy to be?"

"_She's currently at the coastline again. Her readings show that her stress levels are at maximum capacity, depression levels rising, and her molecular movement is stable. It is advisable that Captain Rogers go see her promptly._"

"Thanks Jar."

"_Always a pleasure, sir._"

"You heard him, Captain Underpants. Go!" Clint insists.

"Go, Captain. It's best that you do." Natasha says.

The soldier sighed and looked amongst his team, minus one.

"Let's settle this the old fashioned way."

He didn't bother to take a car or to take any sort of vehicle. He relied on his feet and stamina to get him to where he needed to be, reaching the coastline within the span of thirty minutes flat.

Steve huffed, looking around the area before seeing a girl appear on the shoreline. She took off her shoes and let the probably freezing water hit her ankles. He winced as he imagined the temperature, flashbacks to the days in the ice haunting his mind for a short moment. Steve shook it off, taking in a deep breath before running towards the girl. He wasn't sure what to say or what to do, and ended up tackling her.

She landed on the ground below the captain with a small sound and seemed to be dazed. Steve stared down at her as she blinked a few times, her eyes adjusting to the soldier above her.

"_Steve_? What are you doing?" She asks, her face suddenly darkening.

"I have some unsolved problems to settle with you." He murmurs.

"No, we don't. The only way I solve my problems is by disappearing. And th-"

"Stop. We are going to solve this the old fashioned way by talking it through."

Lucy smiled. "I haven't done that in decades." Her smile faltered. "I'll comply only if you get off of me, Rogers."

He stood, sticking his hand out to her. She took his help for the first time and grabbed her shoes.

"Let's walk."

The two walked side by side in silence, Lucy nearer to the crashing waves.

"I just feel like I work better alone," she begins, looking down at the sand. "I never worked well in a team and did my own thing. I don't think I'm anything special and I don't understand why you guys want me so badly. I'll still be fighting, just without the team."

Steve frowned, completely disagreeing with her words. "You criticize yourself too much, Fatale. You are very special, talented, and strong. We want you with us because you are all of those things and more. Working by yourself is just too much sometimes and we're here to work together to combine our powers. We _need _you, Lucy. If we could just get past this, we could save so many lives."

"I honestly don't know, Rogers. I don't know if I _will_ return."

"Will you do me a favor?" The girl looked up. "Will you at least consider your return?"

She paused and watched as the sea water retreated back, taking the sand underneath her feet. "Okay, Rogers. If you don't hear from me in a week, consider your team seven minus one."

He grimaced at the thought and sighed. "I suppose that's fair enough."

"Then it's a deal." She states, offering her hand to the soldier. He gripped it, giving it a slight shake before letting go.

"I'll be around, Rogers. But for now, go get some rest."

Steve looked at her with a bit of disappointment and she dissipated. He stopped to look out to false dawn and sighed before slowly making his way back. Maybe he'll sleep in today.

**March, 2014**

A week passed and there was no sign of Femme Fatale anywhere. No voice, no eerie mood, nothing. Everyone was devastated, knowing that she would fight alone. It was Friday, bonding Friday, to be exact. Thor came down in hopes that Fatale would be there, but alas the maiden was not.

Today's training was rough on everyone, and so everyone was beat, exhausted and sore. So Jarvis had ten stacks of pizza ordered to the Avengers Tower. Or as Fury called it, Avengers Headquarters. The team sat around the living quarters with a pizza slice or two in their hands and a bite in their mouths as the heavy feeling of disappointment and soreness hung in the air. Tony set his piece down, getting to his feet with a grunt before walking down the long hall to his suite to grab something.

Passing by what used to be Fatale's suite, he saw her belongings in there, as if she had never left. He walked past the door with no problem until he reached his own suite, stopping in his tracks and back pedaling to check the authenticity. Tony sped back into the living room, pointing and jumping and throwing out strange syllables that were supposed to be words.

"Stop acting like a monkey, Stark. Today's not the day for jokes." Clint grumbles.

"Lucy's stuff is in her suite!" He shouts.

"No it's not. I'm sure you're hallucinating now, Tony." Bruce sighs, mouth full of pizza.

"I'm not hallucinating!"

"He's definitely _not_ hallucinating."

Everyone continued chewing, and froze when they realized the voice was not that of the visible team. Fatale compacted in between Thor and Banner, a slice of sausage pizza in her hand.

She raised her slice in a sort of a toast before smirking and taking a bite.

"LUCY!"

Chaos ensued quickly, everyone in the midst of their own excitement and cheering and calling of her name.

"I KNEW SHE WOULD COME BACK!"

"I TOLD YOU HER STUFF WAS THERE!"

"I thought I heard Fury talking to someone familiar..."

The girl in question chuckled and continued to eat, Thor reaching over and patting her shoulder.

"Welcome back, Lucy."

"It's good to have you back." Bruce says, a smile on his face.

"So what's today's discussion topic? Doesn't look we're bonding at all." She jokes, noticing the melancholy atmosphere.

"Training was tough today." Tony grumbles.

"I know. I was there."

They laughed at her ability, though uncanny yet so unique.

"I'll be sure to catch up. Don't worry your pretty little head, cap." Lucy says, looking over at the distraught young man.

"We'll be taking a day to recuperate so-"

"You all will. I won't. I'll just take this opportunity to train with someone else." She says, shrugging nonchalantly.

"I mean, if you're willing to do so..."

"I'm always willing to do anything for a team. Especially if it's one that I'm involved with."

The rest of them smiled at her words, not quite so sure if she was being sincere or not when taking into the consideration of the bored look on her face.

"So you would like to talk about something?" Thor inquires as he takes his seventh slice from his own box.

Lucy nods, pausing to think. "I'm not good at talking. Ask me a question. I'm sure you're curious about me in some way."

The team had to admit they were extremely curious about the new recruitment. They just couldn't spit the questions out.

"I just may not answer the questions in the forms you may appreciate." She warns, wiping the grease off of her fingers with a napkin.

"What did you exactly do to the enemy soldiers back in the day?" She pursed her lips before speaking.

"I worked them into what I wanted and then killed them." Lucy stared at the last slice of pizza and it disappeared, appearing in her hands within the second.

Agent Hill brought in another box (or three) and chuckled at the fact that Thor had cleared 3 boxes himself. The night was filled with laughter and fun, and a movie that Tony called, School of Rock.

**The Week of March 16, 2014**

Things were back to what they used to be after recruiting Lucy; training sessions ensued, meetings, briefings, and all that fun jazz that came along with being an Avenger. Everything was fine and dandy during personal hour in the gym until Director Fury decided to call them up for a meeting. Lucy cleared the bag across the room and Natasha moved out of the way, a faint smile on her lips as she scanned over the girl.

"Always at the wrong times." Lucy grumbles, following her team out of the gym.

"I'm sure you are all wondering why I've called you here and cut short your training session." Nick Fury says, sighing.

He pursed his lips and looked at the breathless recruitment. "You'll be going on your first mission, Lucy."

She sat up in interest, looking at Fury with a bit of curiosity.

"She won't be going by herself, right?"

"You will all be a part of this mission. You are all in grave danger as of this moment." Nick paused to press his finger against his ear piece.

"Commence lock down."

A warning sound began to steadily ring as the windows were shut with heavy steel sheets, all doors to the outside world cut off with bulletproof glass over think titanium sheets covered by steel.

"What's going on, sir?" Steve asks, now concerned.

"HYDRA Four is currently running missions; missions set to kill you all. The other two tubes were opened, and they are copies and replicas of Widow and Hulk. We're fortunate that they didn't find out about Miss Fatale, but we need to infiltrate their new building, and kill the six."

Lucy smacked her lips loudly, causing everyone to glance at her. "Where's the building?"

"Currently not in North America, Asia, or South America. We're suspecting Europe, or Australia."

"Is Peter going to be around? Wade?" Bruce asks.

"We may have to call them in later. For now, I want you seven to do this mission for all of our safety. We have agents scouring Europe and Australia currently, and I'm hoping for results by tomorrow morning. If they're not located, we'll have a different tactic."

Lucy clicked her tongue before speaking. "If they're not located, I think we should send me to go search."

"No way." Steve interjects.

She looked over at him and smiled. "Let me finish," she says. "I've had my eye on HYDRA for the last year and a half, and I have a bit of a clue as to where they are. I can't tell you where, for safety sake, but I think that it would be an idea to take into consideration."

Fury stared at her, wondering what she had been up to before joining the team.

"I've had some experience with them before, and lots of experience with the bad guys. Let me handle this portion, at least." Lucy insists.

"We'll see what happens tomorrow." Nick cuts her off. "Go on for one more hour should be enough. Get some rest; it might be a long and restless adventure."

They all left for more training, excited that he cut their session three hours early, yet scared and anxious of their new mission.

"You absolutely cannot reveal yourself to them until we come together as a team." Steve says, watching as Fatale stepped onto the treadmill.

"I know better than that." She says, starting the machine at two miles per hour.

"And you have to have your tracker." Clint adds, sitting down on the sit up bench and starting his reps.

"I know." She sighs, cranking up the machine to five, then seven miles an hour.

"And you have to eat. No more skipping meals." Natasha reminds as she spots Tony.

"Golly. You guys act like I'm five years old." Lucy grumbles, not even breathing irregularly as she speeds up to nine miles an hour.

"And bring your phone." Tony grunts.

"Look. I'm not going to get myself killed, alright? I'll be perfectly fine." The girl insists, watching the clock.

"When you get sleep, remember not to dissipate." Bruce continues. She groaned, much to everyone's amusement and pouted. The vixen _pouted_.

"I'm older than you guys by years and years and yet you still treat me like a child."

"Well you look like a damn teenager still, granny."

"Oh, keep your trap shut, birdie." He stuck his tongue out at the new recruitment and she returned the gesture.

Everyone stayed at their station for the next hour except for Fatale, where she switched to bench pressing with Hawkeye after twenty minutes of sprinting. She out did him, pressing 600 pounds easily. "Well I'm not a super human!" was his argument.

"Hit the showers, get some sleep. Now." Fury's voice rang through the intercom, startling all of them.

Slowly, everyone made their way out of the training room, moving up to the level where their suites were. Showers came first, and Clint ended up with a cold shower after getting to his suite last. He grumbled all throughout the dinner they had, which consisted of frozen vegetables and variations of eggs.

The team stared at their plates until Fatale decided to increase molecular movement of the vegetables and the eggs, cooking them thoroughly. Clint grumbled all throughout their shared dinner of his supposedly frozen shower, to which the doctor pushed him over in his chair. Though it was Friday night, they skipped their usual bonding time for an extra hour or two of sleep before the mission.

**March 18, 2014**

The day began for them at 5am, Nick calling them in to inform them of the mission status.

"The building was not found." He begins, to which Fatale cheered at. "Which determines our next move to send Fatale. I'm not quite sure what to expect, since we've checked all parts of the earth for the building."

She smiled. "Leave it up to me, Mr. Fury. I'm sure the outcomes of my outing will please all of you."

"Let's hope you don't get hurt, Fatale." Natasha sighs.

"Would you like to begin tomorrow?" Nick asks.

"Let's start now."

Captain Rogers opened his mouth to interject and the recruitment stopped him immediately. "The day's new, we've all gotten adequate amounts of sleep. I can handle this."

Lucy glanced around the team. "I'll suit up, and I expect you all to get some rest." She says, standing up.

Captain Rogers gave her a look that she didn't catch, but the others did. She almost strut out of the room, leaving the others behind in their thoughts and worries.

She reappeared in the office twenty minutes later in her black suit, made to withstand extreme temperatures and help the movement of her molecules if there _were _extreme conditions.

"Don't wait up. I'll be back in a day or two." She declares.

"Do you have your phone with you?"

"Your earpiece?"

"Your tracker?"

"Did you eat?"

"I have my phone, I have my ear piece as you can see, I have my tracker, and I don't like eating before a mission. I'll be back." She murmurs, ready to dissipate.

"Wait!" She paused, watching as Romanoff approach her. Widow stuck out her hand, eyes full of worry.

"Please don't get yourself hurt."

Lucy smiled, pushing the other's hand down before hugging her. "Have some faith in me, Tasha." Natasha hugged her back (surprisingly), nodding into her shoulder.

Once they stepped away from each other, Fatale gave her signature vixen smirk before dissipating.

**March 22, 2014**

Days passed, and there was no sign of Fatale. Calls were unanswered, tracker lost in the waters of the Pacific Ocean near South Korea. Every couple of hours, they heard a "I'm still alive" from her ear piece, and they were reassured again for just a little while.

The team's dinner consisted of variations of protein, from quinoa to ham at the cafeteria when Fury called them up for an emergency meeting. It was a call from Fatale.

"Lucy, your team is here now."

"Alright. I have to make this quick. I'm in South Korea right now. I found out a quite a bit of information about what they call HYDRA Six now. The building isn't on land anymore; it's built underwater. I managed to get through and check out what was up, and I have a lot to share with you. I'll be home by midnight."

"Are you hurt at all?"

"No. I'm sorry I couldn't answer your calls if you did so; I had to destroy it so they wouldn't catch any signals. My ear piece I had to deactivate multiple times. Sorry Tony, but you'll have to get me a new phone."

"Don't worry about it. Just...get home."

"Alright. I need to go so I'll see you soon."

"Farewell, Lucy."

The call was ended and everyone sat in silence. "We have a long and winding road ahead of us, lady and gentlemen."

As she said, Lucy got home just before midnight, looking just as she did a few days ago. Before sharing the information with her team, she consulted with Fury. He would tell them everything tomorrow. On the other hand, the rest of them stayed awake to see if she was alright after her trip.

"I told you guys not to wait up for me." she chuckles, secretly happy that they did.

"Are you alright though? You didn't get hurt?"

"Of course I didn't."

"How did it go?"

"You'll hear about it from One-Eyed Jack tomorrow."

"Did you get some rest? Did you eat?"

"I never sleep on missions, Cap. Nor do I eat. Don't worry about it though, you guys need some re-"

"We've been resting for the last four days you were gone. So don't say anything about resting."

"Whatever. But anyways, I'm glad I went."

"You didn't eat at all? Or sleep?" Fatale shook her head no, so graciously nonchalant about it.

"I'll eat tomorrow. But for now, training is-"

"Not going to happen. You're going to march into that suite of yours and get some sleep." Lucy frowned, complying and strutting into her suite even if she hadn't gotten sleep or food.

**March 23, 2014**

The next morning, Fury got them all up for a meeting at exactly 7AM, not even bothering to let them change out of their pajamas. The men of the team were in t-shirts and matching checkered bottoms, whereas the two ladies were in shorts and tank tops.

Lucy had a plate of carbohydrates and protein varying from toast to turkey bacon, all ordered by her team. They were all enjoying a piece of turkey bacon when Fury began.

"The information that Lucy has given me is surprising, though it does make sense. The HYDRA building is in the Pacific Ocean, closest to North Korea. It's now HYDRA Six, as Lucy as mentioned, and they're stronger than ever and ready to put up a fight. All six of them have been analyzed and studied, training sessions out up for each of them, strengthening both their weak ends and their strong parts. They're planning on striking soon, so we'll keep a close eye," Tony sniggered and Director sent a glare before continuing, "on them for the next week. Our agents in South Korea have been notified, and strategies will be considered, analyzed, reviewed. This is going to be a difficult fight."

"Tactics?"

"That will be up to you, Captain. But if there's one thing I suggest," Fury says, turning to Lucy, "is that we can't blow her cover and she must come in last."

She grimaced, not appreciating the plan, and turning her focus on the variety of eggs on her plate.

"They're going to imitate and know every single move you guys make, since they are replicas of you. I have my faith in all of you. I trust that you use your best judgments, Fatale."

She looked up once hearing her name and nods. "I trust that you won't lose faith in us, Mr. Fury."

"Breakfast. Now." Lucy stood with her plate and followed the lead of her team, moving back into the cafeteria.

She yawned, moving around her food using her fork before standing up. "I'm going to go get some time to myself." she declares, leaving the table.

She went up to her suite, sat down on her bed and sighed. She buried her face into her hands and couldn't stop the memories; they flooded her mind, enclosing her in the fondest ones she had that still hurt her.

**-Flashback-**

"Excuse me, young lady?"

Fatale turned to see a grandma and she bowed her head a bit, traditions still fresh in her mind.

"Ah! Betty? Is that you?"

She froze at the sound of her own mother's name. "I'm sorry, but you must have the wrong person."

"No, no, no! That can't be! You look exactly like my daughter when she was 18! My granddaughter must be 18 by now . . . wait a second-"

"I'm sorry but I have to go."

"Wait! Someone please stop my granddaughter!"

Lucy ran as fast as she could, getting away from her grandmother at the speed of a jaguar, avoiding contact from the one she loved most. Tears began to fall down her face. How could she have noticed it was her? She was dressed so unlike herself in a plaid button down and jeans, yet her grandmother recognized who she was so easily.

"I'm sorry grandma, and you can condemn me to hell for this, but I'm not your granddaughter anymore. I'm Femme Fatale, now forever and always."

**Still March 23, 2014**

Lucy let the agony overcome her, not fighting it back like every other day. It was so unlike her, but it was better than zoning out during something important. She soon felt the presence of one of her team members in the room, watching her in her weak moment.

"What do you want?" she asks, her voice steady and full of venom.

"Are you alright, Lucy?" It was none other than the Captain, here to make her mood even worse and her life even harder.

"I'm fine. Just leave me be." And of course, he doesn't.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I just didn't have any fun." she mumbles, wiping her tears and hoping he'll go away.

"Why not? Isn't that where your parents are from?"

"So?"

"No fun memories?"

She grimaced at his words. "They only reminded me of what could have been. Now if you could leave me be, I would very much appreciate it." And apparently Captain didn't want her appreciation, as he continued on with his interrogation.

"Did you ever get a chance to visit your grandparents way back when?" It was unbelievable. He was unbelievable.

"Of course not. I worked for the government. No one cares about your feelings or your family if you work for the government."

He frowned. "Some of them do."

"Not the ones I worked for." Captain sighed and watched as she composed herself.

"Why don't we change our clothing and talk about this after?"

He seemed surprised at the suggestion and murmured, "Uh, sure."

He left the room and shut the door behind him as she stood up and walked into her closet.

"I'm sure I have it...oh." Lucy stared at the plaid button down, the one that she wore the day her grandma recognized her.

Pulling it off of the rack, she found the jeans she wore on the same day and changed into them. Staring into her mirror, she saw the person she recognized in old photos of her mom, and the girl that ran from her grandmother that exact day, some 80 years ago. Lucy stepped out of the closet, out of her room and into the living room to find everyone else in casual clothing, watching a movie called Insidious.

"So, when you were-"

"You look like a regular person without your uniform and usual get up." Tony interrupts Captain and the latter frowns.

"I honestly don't know what to expect from HYDRA right now." Captain says after a while.

"Expect them to copy you like hell."

"And please. If you could not die before I get there, I would really appreciate it." Lucy pleas, sinking into the couch. She sighed, "Honestly. If you die out there I will come back and get you guys from hell."

"What makes you think we're all going to hell?"

"Just an assumption. A bad habit of mine, but I think I'm going to hell after all of the shit I've done."

"Well what exactly did you do?" Tony asks, feeling brave enough to ask such a straightforward question.

She didn't even flinch. "Lots and lots of bad deeds."

Everyone sighed in unison at her answer, figuring that this was the type of person Fatale was. They just had to deal with it like they dealt with Tony or Clint. It was a strange feeling for all of them, really; it was like she was meant to be there (and she was), but it felt so unusual at the same time.

Before any more questions or words could be exchanged, Director Fury called for the team up in the briefing room to explain what was going on, and what was going to be happening.

"The last time we dealt with HYDRA Four, we got Peter to find out how they were so similar to our Avengers team. The building was destroyed, and now we know for sure that their building is in North Korea, in the ocean. Since that's the case, the best thing we can do right now is to get in the labs and the strategy room and figure out how we're going to get into the building without being caught, the tactics, everything down to the seconds." Director Fury explains. He paused and looked around at his team.

"Let's get to work."

The rest of the morning was spent in the strategy room looking over team member analyses, running tests, figuring out how exactly they would get into the building, and testing factors and "what ifs".

"Ow, that hurts, you know!"

The team was being re-measured for suits (all but Tony, who was in his upper lab level working on Mark 43) and Clint poked Lucy with a needle like the child he is. He snickered and sat down in a chair after being the first one finished. Lucy glared at him and a lady came over to take her away into the scanner.

Holding her arms out, the glass swiveled around getting a full scan of her body and determining all of the measurements they needed. The lady took her out and sent Natasha in next before taking Lucy to the computer and sitting her next to the researchers to figure out what material they needed to make her new suit out of.

Measuring and blueprinting the suits (if needed) was followed by simulations. Lucy was up last, stepping into a white hallway in her prototype suit empty-handed.

"Alright, Fatale," the voice over the intercom announces, "there is going to be a series of bad guys that are going to ultimately challenge you, and are able to somewhat predict your moves. Just do your best, alright?"

"Sure. I can handle this." she says, making her way down the hall, guard up and turning her mindset into that of Femme Fatale's. She knew all eyes were on her and she smirked, Fatale getting the best of her as Lucy groaned and frowned inwardly.

The first few robots, androids were fairly simple to take down. They were only meant for easy strategic work to get her brain thinking about fighting and battle techniques. The next four took her all at once, firing at her mercilessly and tearing one shoulder. She phased into molecules and moved behind them before compacting herself and staring at one until it fizzled and smoked from heat. She just finished with the third one when the fourth figured out what was going on and began a tousle with her. The final five came in just as #4 hit her pressure point and took her down.

Lucy kicked #4 into the wall as the last five shot at her and brutally beat her. She phased again and went behind them, quickly realizing that they saw a full 360 degrees. Two out of the five smoked after she messed with their molecular structures and she had one on either hand, crushing their (what would be) windpipes as she slammed her heel down on the last one.

Breathlessly she finished off the one under her foot and stood, admiring her work. She huffed and kicked them all out of her way before she heard Tony over the intercom.

"Nice job, I must say. You can just follow the hallway and it'll come to a full circle so we can get you out of here."

"Cool," she comments, making her way down the hall, "thanks."

She was just a few feet away from the door when she heard a whir, almost silent to the human ear. Turning on her heels, she threw her fist at whatever was there and stunned an android. The one behind it shot at her and melted off the left shoulder of her suit and burned her skin to the second degree as she hissed.

"Damn you. Melting my suit, burning me, and surprising me." Lucy grunts, snapping the neck off of the first one before elbowing the second, taking its weapon before firing a few rounds at its head. She dropped the weapon and turned back, finally getting to the door before it opened and shut behind her.

Once she stepped into the room, she sighed and was greeted by a round of applause.

"Stop that." Lucy snaps, still in Fatale's mindset as she sat down in front of the monitor.

"That was great, Lucy. We thought the last two would surely do more damage than that, but I guess we were wrong. Nice job." Natasha smiles.

"Thanks," Lucy mutters as a man in white comes in and cleans up her shoulder and the small cut under her eye. "But maybe next time, if I was allowed a firearm or two, that would be great."

Tony laughed and the team watched the tape of Lucy fighting the androids carefully. Lucy scribbled things down onto a scrap piece of paper using a pen stating that, "I won't remember anything if I don't write something down."

"You alright, Cap?" she soon asks, her eyes fixed on her gaping (like a fish) leader. He flinched and closed his mouth.

"I've never seen anyone fight like you have, Lucy. It's wonderful and, well, fascinating."

Lucy chuckled and smirked. "Thanks Captain. I learned a few tricks over the years that I lived."

By this time it was past lunch, somewhere around four in the afternoon. Clint had been complaining for a break and they finally got it, making their way down to the lower floors where the S.H.I.E.L.D. cafeteria was. Today was a New York deli special, complete with apple pie for dessert to which Tony commented, "I feel like I'm eating some sort of Steven Rogers special. Better yet, Steven Rogers himself. Tastes like freedom, actually.*"

Director Fury gave them the rest of the day to themselves, half expecting them to go train, and half expecting them to go do nothing productive. He was surprised when they actually did both. All of them spent an hour after lunch/dinner napping, and then went up to the gym to train for a little while before coming back down to their suites, showering, and sleeping some more.

"JARVIS, is anyone else awake?" Lucy asks, a cup of milk tea steaming before her.

"_No one is awake, and I do not expect them to awake for a while. All are in NREM stage 3, with Master Thor close to stage 4."_

She smiled at his answer and nodded. "Good; time for myself, I suppose."

"_Would you like for me to turn on the evening news?"_

"Ah, why not?" Lucy smiles, taking her mug and sitting down on the couch in front of the LED screen. A young woman spoke of Tony's stocks rising and more about his Iron Man advancements, making Lucy wonder how they found out about such scrupulous details.

"Do you think we'll be alright, JARVIS?" she suddenly asks. The AI turned down the volume before speaking.

"_I'm sure things will turn out for the best. With you on the team, Miss Lucy, I do believe that things will go just fine."_

"I just don't want anyone to get hurt, you know? Or at least not critically injured. I don't know them all too well, but I feel like they're somewhat my responsibility."

"_I know personally that the team is willing to open up to you, but it really is you, Miss Lucy, that is letting The Femme Fatale control your heart."_

"I just don't want to get hurt again."

"_I don't quite know this story, Miss Lucy, but if you would like to tell me about it one day, I will be glad to listen. But opening up your heart is the first step to making friends and bonds and trust."_

"I don't want to make friends, Jar. The last time I did, we all got hurt."

"_Those were very different situations, Miss Lucy. It was years ago, when things were tough. It's now time to stop being The Femme Fatale for a little while, and to let Lucy open up her heart and allow people to trust and love you."_

Lucy sighed. "I pray to god that no one loves me."

*A direct reference to one of my favorite Stony fanfics, Drowning in a Sea of Stars 3


	6. Chapter 6: Dum-Dum

JARVIS chuckled. "_Someone is bound to love you, Miss Lucy. It's inevitable."_

Lucy grimaced and sighed. "I guess that's one thing I can't control, hmm?"

"_Very so, Miss Lucy." _Lucy chuckled at the AI's answers and stretched. Her eyes wandered around the spacious living quarters, taking a moment to stare out the windows, out to the views.

"JARVIS? What time is it?"

"_7:43PM, Miss Lucy." _She nods and wonders if her team would wake up today before coming to a sudden realization.

"Hey Jar, will you make sure to scan the files on my desk and send them to Director Fury before he throws a fit?"

"_I will do that, Miss Lucy."_

"Thanks."

Standing, she made her way down the stairs, slowly, as if she was contemplating every step down. Stepping into the gym, Lucy pressed a finger against the light switch and the LED bulbs on the ceiling flickered on. She took the time to stretch and warm up on the treadmill before beginning on her weight training. Bench pressing, curls, sit ups, push-ups, pull ups, and all that fun jazz that Director Fury had them do. Might as well catch up on the years I missed, Lucy thought.

An hour may have passed before JARVIS interrupted her. "_Master Tony is awake, and so is Captain Rogers. I thought you'd like to know of that, Miss Lucy."_

Lucy stopped and set the weight back with the rest of them. "Thanks, Jar. I'll be up."

She shut the lights and phased through the ceiling and into the living room where Tony and Captain sat on stools near the island, coffee in each of their hands, both looking drowsy. They didn't even notice when Lucy walked towards them.

"Morning, sunshines! Did you sleep well?" Steve jumps and a bit of coffee splashes onto the island while Tony just ends up looking grumpy.

"Sorry. Are you guys hungry?" Tony grunts what Lucy thinks as an affirmation and Steve is busy cleaning up his mess. Natasha walks in, yawning, with Clint trailing closely behind her doing the same thing. Bruce joins them moments later, looking absolutely disheveled, and Thor comes in without a single word.

"Glad to see everyone bright-eyed and bushy-tailed." Lucy comments, stifling her laughter.

"Shut up." Clint grumbles. Natasha opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by JARVIS.

"_Miss Lucy, Director Fury requests your presence at briefing room #8." _Lucy paused and stared up at the ceiling before mumbling an "alright," and leaving the room.

"Don't get yourself shot!"

**March 24, 2014**

The next day, the team was split up for training. Bruce was in the lab with S.H.I.E.L.D. researchers, Steve in the simulation field, having been moved up from the room for a larger scale battle simulation, Clint in the archery field, Natasha working in the weaponry and arms level with Thor, and Tony in the simulation room for his training. Lucy, on the other hand, was with Dum Dum, figuring out which weapons would work best for her. She had a great deal of experience with revolvers and some semis during the Wars, and so they decided on a semi to start with.

"You know, I knew you back in the day, Lucy." Dum Dum says, loading his own semi-automatic.

Lucy looked up after jamming the cartridge in. "Did I know you?"

"No. I was there when they gave you the second serum. You were a cute little girl." Dum Dum says, chuckling a bit.

"Was I really? Did you expect me to turn into a heartless killer?"

"I knew you were going to be a great killer, but I didn't expect you to become a phaser. You're not heartless, either," Dum Dum argues, taking a shot at the target 500ft. away and making a bulls eye. "You were just doing what you had to do and Fatale had no emotion behind it like everyone else."

Lucy chuckled bitterly and shot, pulling back the slide within the next second and shooting again, the first one making it through Dum Dum's shot and the second one following closely.

Dum Dum barked out a laugh before slapping Lucy on the shoulder. "You haven't lost your touch, have you?"

She laughed and shrugged before he spoke again: "Let's get back to the simulation room and see what Stark is up to."

They were just in time; Steve had finished up his simulation, Tony had just come out of the room, Bruce was back from the lab, Natasha and Thor back from the weaponry, and Clint back from the field with his bow and arrows on his back.

"Hey! You're back! Good, now we can get started on _your _simulation, Lucy."

Lucy groaned and reached into her pocket for the magazine of rounds that Dugan gave her before sending her off into the room.

"You got yourself a weapon, hmm? You know how to use it, twinkle toes?" Clint teases.

She turned on her heels and without a single thought, shot at Clint. Her round pierced the dense wall, just millimeters away from Clint's head. His eyes were wide and full of shock as she smirked while everyone stared with the same expression as the archer's.

"Of course I can."

She stepped into the white hallway and sighed before making her way down the hall.

"This time, you're allowed a weapon, so the opponents will be more challenging than yesterday, even though they seemed to melt like butter under your fingertips."

Lucy laughed. "They were a challenge, even if I made them seem like they weren't." she murmurs, before spotting the first eight or nine and taking them down. When she ran out of rounds, she punched them as they shot her down, ripping out some of her suit in the process after repeated assault.

"You need a better suit. What's that made of? Plastic?" Tony asks over the intercom.

Lucy grunted as a droid took her down and she smoked it, her timing getting quicker as she was down to ten seconds for molecule control. "Two layers of Kevlar. And polyester."

She pushed the droid off of her and looked around before hopping onto her feet and moving on.

"Only two layers?"

"It's just a prototype, Stark. There's a reason why there's polyester involved. Jesus!" She yelled the last bit, feeling her arm get pierced and shot.

Turning swiftly, Lucy kicked whatever had just hurt her and beat it to a pile of metal and wiring before walking faster as she changed out the magazine of rounds.

"Did you just say polyester? Are you kidding me?"

Lucy laughed as she sucker punched a droid and elbowed another before shooting the rest of them down. She huffed a bit before answering Tony.

"I mean, at least it isn't cotton, right? I'm sure the new one," she paused and turned to see a droid at least a foot taller than her. "Will be more promising."

Launching herself at the robot, she tackled it, knocking it down before it grabbed her arms and burned them. A sharp kick to its chest and a couple rounds at its head got the job done and she neared the exit.

"I'll make sure that it's at least ten layers of Kevlar and that new liquid metal stuff."

"What's that?" Lucy asks as a grenade lands near her feet.

She phased into the air before it exploded and Tony continued with his explanation of what the new bullet proof material was. Five droids of various sizes ambushed the girl as she struggled to win.

"Yeah, so it basically hardens on impact, and…"

Her elbow dug into the droid that was strangling her and shot its face before throwing another over her shoulder before digging her heel into its neck.

"The thing about that, is it actually has the tendency to…" The last three shot at her already burned arms and she hissed.

"Can this get any worse?" she grunts, shooting each of them to stun them before she smoked each droid. "Sheesh."

The door slid open and shut behind her, the smell of burnt plastic filling the room.

"Nice work, Lucy. I'm liking the semi-automatic for you."

"I'm definitely switching out for an automatic pistol tomorrow." Lucy says as a man in white comes in and cleans her up, wrapping both of her arms up with bandage. She crinkles up her nose at the strong smell of isopropyl alcohol and the sting of it on her shoulder.

"At least you got a weapon today, huh? How does it feel?"

"Feels like war."

* * *

"Life happens."

With each word, Lucy fired a shot at the target 100ft. away, taking a second to pull back the slide each time. The rounds hit the target either bulls eye or off by a centimeter, a groan releasing from her lips as she saw the results.

"Why can't I do anything correctly?"

Her rounds went through the same spot every time and she dropped the gun, letting it drop to the grass with a light, dull thud. Lucy groaned and ran her fingers through her hair before digging through her pocket and pulling out a magazine of rounds.

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, Lu."

Turning on her heels, she saw Bruce, standing shyly with his hands in the pocket of his khakis, a navy blue dress shirt tucked into them. He made his way towards her and bent down to pick up the gun before handing it to her. She took it gratefully and pocketed it before toying with the cartridge.

"We can't be perfect, you know? We're all human, even if some of us are more special than others and more skilled in fighting." he says, a smile tinting his voice as he elbowed the girl softly. She smiled but sighed.

"I expect myself to be perfect, and so do the people around me."

"We don't expect you to be perfect at all. We expect you to be you. I think you mean, the people _did _expect you to be perfect," Bruce corrects, staring out towards the target.

"Have you ever handled a gun before, Dr. Banner?"

"It's Bruce, by the way. And no, I haven't."

"Do you wanna take a shot at it?" Lucy asks, pausing a moment before laughing at her own joke. Bruce smiled and chuckled.

"I don't know how; you know that."

"I'll teach ya," Lucy says, taking the gun from out of her pocket. She handed it to him and he fumbled with it.

"So you gotta first check if the cartridge has any rounds in it. Turn it down and check, like this. Okay, good. Now pull the slide back, alright good. Now," she says, forming her hands as if she had a gun in her hand, "grip it like this. Tight. Tighter! Okay, your hands are shaking, and just relax a little, just so your grip doesn't quiver. Awesome, but you, no, not- okay, like, wait-"

Lucy laughed and wrapped her arms around Bruce and he tensed. Her arms came around and her hands wrapped around his, adjusting his hands so that they were in the correct form. She giggled from behind him and murmured words against his back, so muffled that he didn't understand any of it.

"Now put your index finger on the trigger, and pull."

The shot didn't hit the target at all and Lucy let out a laugh. "You need to have a firm grip, mister! Let's try it again, and this time, aim, you dummy!"

Bruce laughed and focused more, forehead creasing as she pulled the slide and he pulled the trigger. The shot landed just a few inches away from dead center. Lucy let go and looked at the doctor with excitement written all over her face as she clapped.

"That was awesome! You have a knack for shooting! You should try it without me." she says, smiling wide as she stepped back.

Bruce took a deep breath and checked the magazine before pulling the slide, aiming, and firing. The shot wobbled a bit, but was closer to bulls eye than the last one.

"That's so cool, Bru! You're really good!"

"I learned from the best." Bruce chuckles.

"Of course you did, Bru. Nice job. You can keep practicing! Go for it!"

Bruce smiled at the endearment but hesitated. "I'm actually on my way to the lab."

Lucy looked a little disappointed, but smiled just a second later. "Okay! I'll be around!"

She turned and faced towards the main buildings, leaving Bruce and her semi behind her.

"Lucy, don't you want your gun back?"

She didn't turn, but smiled. "Keep it, Bruce. It might come in handy one day, when you decide the other guy needs a break." She walked, the distance between them getting larger as Dr. Banner looked down at the weapon.

It was a plain-looking thing, simple except for the stamp on the side of it. He smiled.

"To Bruce, for when he needs it the most. -Lucy."

* * *

"Whatcha doin', Lucy?"

Lucy looked up from the tablet that was on the table and smiled sheepishly.

"Playing Family Feud. You should come play with me!" she says, patting the seat just to the right of her on the couch. Clint sat down and smiled, looking over her shoulder until she slid the tablet so it was between the both of them.

**Name a beverage that would be served at a kid's birthday party.**

"Soda! Of course!"

"Yay! Let's play this round."

"Okay, so what else? Milk?"

"Why the hell would-I take that back, never mind."

"What else?"

"Juice."

"No! Punch, probably." They won the round and high-fived, the game moving onto the next question.

**Name the most uncomfortable place you've ever slept at.**

"Air vents in a building."

Lucy laughed. "We can't use that. How about a bus?"

"Damn. They got it." The family soon lost, and the chance was given to Clint and Lucy with only one answer left.

"Answer #6…"

"A desk."

"WHAT!"

"DAMN IT!"

"Next time!" Clint says, determined.

"Hey, Clint?"

"Hey, Lucy?"

"Do you think you're good enough for yourself?"

He looked at the girl curiously, questioning her words.

"As in, are you satisfied with the person you are?"

Clint paused and looked up in thought.

"I've never once thought I was good enough. And I don't think it'll ever happen, really. I think it's in human nature to criticize ourselves."

"We're our own biggest critics." they murmur together.

"I don't think I'll be satisfied, ever. I know I should be grateful, but I only see the negatives and the bad. I'm grateful, but not enough for what my life is."

"Well, the first step to solving a problem is always realizing that you have a problem."

Clint chuckled. "Do you think you're good enough for yourself, Miss Lucy?"

She shook her head no. "I won't ever be good enough for myself. I know a lot of people who used to look up to me, but I don't see myself as more than someone who deserves to go to hell."

"We can fix that."

Lucy grimaced before smiling. "It doesn't work."

"I think you've been fighting battles alone for too long, don't you think? This is going to be one we're all going to help you win.

"You deserve to win this one."

* * *

"TONY!"

The genius looked up and cut off the gas to his torch, pulling it away from the pieces of metal he was welding. He smiled when he saw the new recruitment almost bounce into his lab, almost forgetting that his lab was impossible to get into unless you had the right fingerprint or eyeball.

"Hi Tony! Whatcha doin'?" she asks, leaning against the table he was working on.

Tony lifted his mask and smiled. "Fixing up MK43. What do you need?"

"Do you need help? Is this the last thing you need to do?"

He blinked, wondering who this person was, and what they did to the aloof recruitment that was just in the simulation room, beating the shit out of his androids. "Um, yeah, actually. This is the last thing I need to do. But it's not welding well."

"Maybe I can help? Hold those parts together. No, with gloves. You'll burn yourself. Okay, ready?" Tony nods and he almost feels the two pieces vibrating against each other. Within the blink of an eye, the two pieces are fused together almost seamlessly.

"Impressive. What do you need?"

Lucy smiled, a sparkle in her eye. "You wanna have a drink with me?"

An hour later, Tony was totally sober, much to his surprise, and so was Lucy, not surprisingly. They had only moved down to the living room and brought out glasses and ice before Lucy had started to ask questions about the different kinds of liquor he had.

They had taken a seat by the island, side by side while their glasses were halfway full of Bailey's, Lucy's choice for now.

"Tony, you know how strange it is to see you without your reactor?"

He paused and realized what she was referring to.

"Oh. Is it weird? Should I put it back in for fun?"

Lucy shook her head vigorously and laughed. "It's weird, but I don't think you should put it back in there for funsies." She clapped a hand over her mouth after hearing herself say 'funsies' and Tony reacted with a loud guffaw.

"That's cute. Your little slang words."

Lucy frowned and continued. "I'm glad it's not the only thing keeping you alive though, Tony."

Tony sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I mean, I guess." He circled his glass, the ice tinkling on the sides of the cup.

Lucy picked hers up and downed the rest of it, quietly smacking her lips afterwards as Tony stared wide-eyed.

"You up for some new stuff?" she asks, standing up and making her way towards the fridge.

"Uh, um, I, uh, huh?"

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." she laughs, pulling out a green bottle and two shot glasses with the same logo as the one on the bottle.

"What's this?" Tony asks, taking the bottle and reading the label.

"Korean soju." Lucy states, sitting down and setting one glass down in front of him. "So in Korea, we don't pour our own drinks. We pour each other's drinks."

"What if you're alone?"

"You never drink this stuff alone."

"But what if?"

"Then you take the bottle, and you take it straight from the damn thing."

Tony laughed as Lucy smiled, breaking the seal and pouring him some before he took the bottle and returned the gesture.

"But either way, you shouldn't drink alone, Tony. No, don't drink at all. Don't you dare. Unless I'm around throwing shots down my throat, then you shouldn't."

Tony smirked and picked up his glass.

"Ah, ah," Lucy says, stopping Tony from tipping the contents into his mouth, "and then you gotta cheers! For the first shot, at least. You have to say 'gunbeh!'"

"Gunhae?"

"Gunbeh."

"Goonbae?"

"Gunbeh."

"Gunbeh?"

"Gunbeh!" Their glasses clinked together and they drank, making faces afterwards at the taste.

"That's not bad." Tony says after a while, releasing his sour countenance.

"It's pretty bad. It's an acquired taste, really." Lucy counters, pouring him another while he did the same.

Four more glasses full went by, and Lucy decided it was enough.

"I'm not going to get you drunk, alright?"

"What, you don't trust me?"

Lucy chuckled, bitterness coming through in the low laughter. "I don't trust myself."

"We can fix that." No, you can't. I've tried, and failed every time, Tony.

Instead of telling him what she was thinking, Lucy smiled.

"Okay, I guess it's worth a shot."

* * *

"JARVIS? Do you know where Nat and Thor are?"

"_Miss Romanoff is in the weaponry and arms room, again. She seems to be occupied. Mr. Odinson is with Miss Foster in Times Square."_

Lucy frowned. "I guess I'll spend some time with them later."

"_You may have forgotten about Captain Rogers, if you plan to spend time with all of the team, Miss Lucy." _

Lucy smiled and shook her head no. "I didn't forget. Make sure Mr. Rogers sees the note on his bed, please?"

"_Of course."_

"Hi Steve, I wanted to make it up to you for my recent behavior. I'm a little stoic, and I'm sorry, but you wanna come walk with me at the park? 0400 sharp, got it?"

Steve's brows furrowed at the message and he didn't recognize the handwriting, either. It wasn't the best calligraphy, but it wasn't the work cursive either.

"_It's from Miss Lucy, Captain Rogers." _Steve visibly jumped and dropped the note. Even after two years of living at the Avengers Tower, he _still _wasn't used to the AI's intrusions. "_I apologize, sir for the sudden intrusion, but it's currently 3:50. And it takes twenty minutes to get to the park by car."_

"Thank you, JARVIS." Steve smiles, picking up the note and tucking it into his jacket before making his way out.

He jogged the whole way there and made it just in time, spotting the girl staring out the lake silently, hands tucked into a leather jacket just like his.

"Hello, ma'am. Care to join me on a walk?" Steve asks, approaching Lucy.

Turning her head, she smiled and laughed a bit.

"I believe I was the one who sent the invitation?" Lucy says, hooking her arm around Steve's left arm when he bent down in an offer to escort her.

They walked in step, the pace slow and calming.

"You wanted to make up your behavior with me. Why?" Steve soon asks, making Lucy genuinely smile for the first time.

"I've been a bit rude to everyone since I've joined, and especially to you. And a team needs bonds, and although you guys have one amongst yourselves, I realized that I'm not allowing myself to open up and do that for us. As seven."

"No one minds about your attitude, Lucy. It's just the way you are, really."

"No, it's not the way I am, Steve. It's the way Fatale is, not me. And I want you guys to like me as Lucy, not Fatale. But I don't want friendships." she quickly adds. Steve frowned.

"Why?"

"I hurt people the closer I get to them, and the last time I had a friend, I lost them after hurting them."

"But that was Fatale hurting them unintentionally, _not _you."

He had a point.

"We're going to fix that, Lucy." I've tried, Steve. It's never worked before…

"Do you want to feed the ducks?" Lucy asks, keeping her thoughts to herself and distracting herself with the ducks approaching in the lake.

"Huh?"

She stopped and reached into her other pocket, coming up with a paper bag full of bread crusts.

"I never liked bread crusts and neither did Thor, so I thought it would do us some good if we saved the leftovers and fed them to the duckies." Lucy explains, cheeks flushing when she realized she called them 'duckies'.

Steve smiled and took the bag from her open hands and unrolled the bag before taking a handful and tossing it at the ducks. They excitedly stepped onto land and approached the two with interest after seeing the other ducks eat what was thrown at them.

"Ahhh!" Lucy squeals, a duck biting at her jeans. "Stop it! No, here!"

Steve laughed loudly over her screams and held his stomach, the girl's reaction and squeals overly entertaining.

"HEY! NO FEEDING THE DUCKS! DON'T YOU SEE THE SIGNS?"

Steve stopped laughing and Lucy stopping squealing to stare at each other with wide eyes.

"Run!"

* * *

"I miss you, a lot." Lucy murmurs, sitting by a headstone in the ground.

She patted the metal next to her, brushing away the pebbles that lie on the lettering. She sniffled and fixed the roses in the plant holder embedded into the ground to try and keep her emotions at bay. It didn't work.

"I told you that you weren't allowed to leave me. Do you know how many times I told you that? And yet you still didn't listen, you ass."

A tear fell on the iron plaque, followed by many more. They glistened in the slow setting New York sun, reflecting on the life that Lucy and the man under the ground lived.

"I told you my biggest fear was being alone, truly alone. I told you that I was afraid of you dying before me. And then you went ahead and made my biggest fears come true," Lucy murmurs, voice shaky from emotion. "But I guess it wasn't your fault, huh? It was all government planned."

"I promised that I would never work for the government ever again, and here I am. Working under S.H.I.E.L.D., working under the government. It's all in good favor, I suppose. If I'm here, then you must have let me, right?" She looked up at the sky and smiled. "Are you going to make the skies clear tonight and make me happy?"

She stopped talking afterwards, enclosed in her own thoughts until disturbed by a stampede of footsteps, ones that didn't bother to try and respect her presence. Ones that reminded her of warriors.

Lucy looked up and the corner of her mouth quirked up for a split second. "How did you guys find me?"

"Your phone has a, um, tracking device."

She nods quietly and gestures towards the space in front of her. "Might as well sit, no?"

"Who are you visiting?" Steve soon asks, looking over at the headstone and reading aloud, "Timothy Daymo. March 23, 1914-August 1, 1999. A war hero, fighting for his country, and for his love." Lucy smiled and picked away the rock embedded into the 'O' in 'hero'.

"He's a close friend of mine. We fought a lot of secret missions back then. I did the dirty work and he knocked 'em dead." she chuckles, grinning at the plaque.

"Um, how, uh, did he, um,"

"He was actually a subject of the Infinity Formula. And he died trying to save me from that government facility," she explains, saving Clint the trouble of asking. "Idiot."

"What were you two?"

"Close friends. Brother and sister. Partners in crime. Fighting partners during both wars. Sparring partners. Everything." Lucy whispers the last part, emotions getting to the best of her. "I wish he was here with me still. I mean, of course I do. But if he saw me now, he would wonder why I got so soft. He would fix every little battle technique and then slap me upside the head for being stupid. And then I would elbow him, and then we'd wrestle to...sorry. It's not something you guys would like to hear more about."

She took a deep breath and shook her head, as if she was shaking away the emotions like they were flies.

"The government killed him. I vowed never to be involved with them for as long as I lived, but oh the irony, hmm?"

They were all silent after that, the setting sun going down the horizon even slower. It was as if there was something holding it up. After all, it was only 6PM.

"It's quiet up here." Lucy looked up and saw Tony smiling at her.

"Uh, yeah. It's a little place I call home when actual home gets tough. When life starts acting up again and becomes a bitch I come up here and watch the sun set."

"That sounds nice."

"It's a lot nicer than life. Up here, you realize that there's beauty even in darkness."

Lucy smiled and looked up at the clouds. "I'm glad we spent some time together you guys." She shifted her gaze to the four men that she bonded with and grinned before looking back up at the fluffy masses in the air.

"You're welcome home any time you'd like, guys."


	7. Chapter 7: Connections

**March 28, 2014**

The day began with Director Fury's booming voice ringing over the intercoms.

"Avengers are to be in briefing room #8 in fifteen minutes."

I groaned and smiled hearing Tony curse loudly in his room.

"Why are we doing this so early in the morning?!" Natasha screams, sounding like she was about to punch a hole in the wall. She seemed more unhappy to do this than usual. I laughed.

"I was planning on sleeping in, Fury!" I yell.

"Criminals don't give a damn whether or not you want to sleep in, and neither do I."

Everyone stepped out of their rooms at different intervals, but all within the same two minute time period, grabbing their designated mugs and filling them with coffee before heading down to HQ.

It must have been a pretty funny sight to see all of the Avengers plus one walking across the campus in pajamas looking lethargic with cups of coffee so full it was almost spilling over. Steve in his S.H.I.E.L.D. shirt and checkered pajama bottoms identical to Tony's, Thor's, Clint's, and Bruce's. Natasha was wearing the same dark gray shirt as Clint and a pair of black terry shorts. I giggled.

"What are you laughing about, hmm?" Tony asks, nudging my elbow. I took a sip of my coffee and smiled.

"Nothing." I answer, shrugging and looking around the campus.

"That look definitely isn't nothing." Clint teases.

"It's nothing!" I insist, voice raising an octave. Bruce chuckled and Thor let out a boisterous guffaw.

The door shut behind us after we stepped into the briefing room. We all took our spots, Steve taking the head of the table while I took a spot next to Tony. Fury was waiting for us, declaring, "You're two minutes early," as he stared down at his watch.

"Whoop dee doo." Tony grumbles, still annoyed that he had to wake up this early.

"Slam it, Stark. We have things to talk about."

"What's going on now, Director?"

"First of all," Director Fury says, turning to me, "your suit is ready." I grinned as he continued.

"Secondly, we're flying you guys out there tonight, right after the sun goes down. You'll be heading into Seoul, and then we'll split you guys up. Captain Rogers with Thor, Agent Romanoff with Agent Barton, Dr. Banner with Tony and Fatale. From there, everyone will divide and conquer. Clear out as many agents, personnel as you can. We'll send in our agents as needed.

"For now, I want everyone not to wear themselves out. Got it? Great, I'll see you on board tonight." Director Fury made his way out of the room and I sighed loudly.

"Well everything's just hotsy-totsy, isn't it?"

Steve grinned. "Just the bee's knees, don't you think?"

Everyone else burst out laughing and we both frowned. "Oh my god, 'hotsy-totsy'? 'The bee's knees'?" Clint cackles, slapping his hand on the table. Even Thor and Bruce were giggling.

"What's so bad about slang?"

"It's slang that's just as old as you are!"

"And?"

"We're in the 21st century, grandma and grandpa. Get with it."

"Laugh one more time Clint, and you'll be thrown out the window like Tony."

Tony stopped laughing and yelled a 'Hey!' while Clint receded a bit.

"That was cute you guys, I have to admit." Natasha chuckles.

Steve and I glanced at each other with matching frowns, knowing we had lost this battle.

* * *

"Do you like it? Does it feel okay?"

"Do you need any adjustments? What about the utility belt? I thought you might need it."

I smiled, looking at myself in the mirror before getting a feel of the suit as I moved around. It was as soft as velvet on the inside, if not, softer, but I knew that it was stronger than steel by a long run. It moved with me and the unique molecular bonds of it (as I learned,) was designed to help me move through any kind of extremes. The utility belt was the best part; it had multiple pockets and crevices, and I knew they would be useful.

"It's truly amazing, Tony, Bruce. Thank you. I really, really appreciate it. I love it." I sigh, a smile on my face as I looked back at them. They returned the smile before Tony spoke again. "Will you test it out for us?"

In the blink of an eye, I phase into the air, and it's as easy as if I wasn't wearing anything. I compact myself back, and smile. "It's fucking fantastic."

Bruce laughed at my word choice and Tony patted my shoulder before we were shooed out of the S.H.I.E.L.D. researchers.

* * *

The S.H.I.E.L.D. weaponry and arms room had more firearms than I had ever seen before, ranging from simple revolvers to crazy machine guns and alien-looking mobile cannons that I didn't know the use for. Looking around, I spotted cartridges and cartridges of rounds and I picked up a few, tucking them into the pockets of my belt.

"Better have at least two of these, too." a voice says, and I noticed someone standing next to me.

"Thanks, Dugan. What are they?"

"One's a tear gas and the other is a frag grenade." He explains, looking around to find something as I tucked them into my belt.

"Here. You said you wanted an automatic, right?" I peered over at Dugan as he slapped an automatic rifle into my palm. "You're gonna need it."

"Thank you, Dugan."

"What are those? Why do you have a bunch of lipsticks?" I chortled.

"Those aren't lipsticks. Those are Fatale's Lipsticks, but they're not lipsticks." He looked at me with an eyebrow raised.

"Basically, they're bombs, only what happens is when I throw it, or when it's thrown, everything within a half of a mile radius turns into water molecules. Unless you're in contact with adamantium, you're turning into water." Dugan barked out a laugh and slapped by back.

"That's awesome, Lucy! How does that work?"

"I don't thoroughly understand it either, Dugan. And sometimes things that you don't understand ought to be left not understood."

"That's true, little wise one." He laughs, handing me a six-inch switchblade. I tucked it into the strap on my calf before taking one last look around.

"I think that should be alright."

"Considering that you can fry or freeze them to death," Dugan says with a smile.

"Don't get yourself killed, little wise one."

* * *

Leaning against the counter, Lucy stood with a bottle of soju, elbows resting on the granite.

"I thought you can't drink soju alone, Lucy."

She looked up and smiled once she saw Tony walking towards her. Tony had his eyebrows raised at the sight of her: a bottle only a third full of alcohol in front of her, a black suit that fit her like a glove and utility belt obviously full of weapons and deadly tools.

"And I told you that when such a time comes, you drink it straight from the bottle." she replies smoothly before taking another sip.

"You do this often?" Tony asks incredulously. Lucy laughed.

"Only if I get nervous."

"You get nervous?"

Natasha walked in, followed by Bruce, then Thor, and Clint. Natasha furrowed her brows and scanned the image of Lucy.

"Stark. Did you give her all of this or what?"

"Or what," Lucy answers, "it's not a common thing; don't worry. You can have that, if you'd like, Tony."

Clint scoffed and watched as Lucy took a sip of whatever was in the green glass bottle. Steve looked over and his eyes widened. "Did you somehow peer pressure her into this?"

Tony gaped, "Why do you guys think it's me pushing her into this?"

Lucy shook her head. "I'm nervous. This is what I do. Have been since the 20s."

"Does any of this affect you?" Bruce asks.

"Used to before the second serum," she says, and Steve raised his eyebrows, "but I enjoy the taste now. It's calming."

She tossed the empty bottle into the trash and it hit the bottom with a clang. "I don't do this often. I haven't, since '99, when I realized I wasn't in the fifties anymore."

Everyone grimaced and Lucy looked around and laughed. "No need to be awkward. We're all friends here, right?" Their eyes widened while Thor smiled.

"Indeed, fatal maiden...Lucy."

* * *

"Oh dear…" I groan, feeling the change in pressure as we ascend.

"You good? Need a Dramamine?" Bruce offers, and I shake my head no.

"Doesn't do me any good, but thanks anyway." My leg involuntarily shook and I stared out the window to check out what was going on. Nothing.

"Why don't you tell us about Korea, Lucy?" I turned my head back and saw everyone with their focus on me. I made a face. "Um…"

"Tell us about what's cool there. You know, what's...cool." Clint snickered at Tony's word choice and I smiled.

"It's, uh, cool. Quite literally, during this time of year. It's crowded, but I like it that way. It makes me feel at home. It's like San Diego, near the borders?" I pause and wonder what to say next. "It's a beautiful place. I would choose to live there than be here, if I were to live a normal life." Tasha smiled.

"And the place doesn't sleep," I laugh, getting everyone to smile. "Nothing closes, honestly. Here, things close around 6-8PM, but there, everything closes at different times. Nothing really gets quiet until 4AM and then people decide to go home."

"Sounds like you were a party animal." Clint jokes. Tasha jabbed him in the ribs.

"I was, kind of. I like the night and darkness. But I stayed out a lot when I lived there. I only did for a year back in 2000, but it was enough for me to feel like I belonged there."

"Have you been to the S.H.I.E.L.D. base over there?"

"I stopped by during my recent visit."

"God, I hope they speak English."

"Some do, and some don't. I'll be sure to translate for you guys if we run into any trouble." I assure, grinning a bit.

"You've gotten so much nicer over the past month and a half." Clint comments. I grimaced a bit.

"I've been trying. But that goes away during missions, so," I explain, elongating 'so', "just be aware of that." Natasha laughed.

"You've gotten amiable, Tasha." I note, looking towards her. She stiffened. "I have not." The rest of us scoffed and she gave in, putting on a faint smile.

"You're prettier when you smile, Tash. Just remember that." I add, watching her cheeks color slightly.

"_Femme Fatale, please report to the med deck immediately." _I paused and looked up at the intercoms in confusion. I stood slowly, eyes still focused on the speakers. "Alright then? I'll be back," I murmur, "I hope."

Pushing in my chair, I moved over to the door and it slid open with a satisfying _whoosh, _and shut with a _tsss. _I didn't know why I was needed up there, but who knows, I guess. I looked around before phasing through the levels and into the med deck where I was greeted by some para-agents.

"Lucy."

I turned in the direction of the voice and saw the lead doctor motioning me to come over. I walked over and he drew the curtains before handing me a small stack of files. "What's this?"

"These are the files of the Avengers' health records. I've been instructed to give them to you by Director Fury. I'm definitely not supposed to give them to you because of HIPAA, unless you're a doctor working with them alongside me. But you're not a doctor in the first place, so…"

His tone was mocking and I narrowed my eyes. "Are you questioning the years of studying I did in the twenty years between the World Wars? Are you genuinely questioning the years I took out of my life to do exactly what you're doing for the hospital currently?"

He didn't even flinch. "All of your records are gone and deleted. So to answer your questions, yes, I am questioning it." I scoffed. "I'll run that by Director Fury and have that cleared, alright?"

"I'll be going now." I say, drawing back the curtains and making my way out. My boots clopped against the tile as I walked out to the main reception of the med deck before phasing through the levels and back into the room where the rest of my team was asleep, soft snores arising from a few. Smiling, I took my seat in between Bruce and Thor as Bruce turned in his chair sleepily to face me. "Hey Lu. What's up?"

"Not much." I reply, setting the files down on the table before picking up the one on the top. He reached for one and I slapped his hand away. "Ah, ah. These aren't for you, sir."

Bruce laughed and leaned back against the back of his chair. "What are those?"

"Files that are for my eyes only. So get back to dreamland, sleepyhead."

He complied without another word and I glanced up to see Natasha about to open one. My eyes bulged and I jumped out of my chair, tumbling onto the table to get to her and yanked it out of her hand as we landed on the ground with a loud crash. I grimaced, knowing that they would wake up from the noise.

"What has occurred to Lucy and Natasha?" I groaned, knowing that just Thor's booming voice would wake the rest up.

"Geez, Lu. What's so important about that file, anyway?" Natasha chuckles, offering me a hand up. I took it gratefully and stood, seeing Bruce hang onto the files so no one else would touch them. I walked around to my chair as six pairs of eyes watched me take the files that Bruce handed to me. "Thanks."

"What are those?" Tony asks, raising an eyebrow and looking disheveled.

"Nothing for your eyes, Mr. Stark."

"Can _I_ see?"

"No one is authorized to look at these files except for I. And even I was questioned before given the privilege." I add, plopping down into my seat. I scanned my eyes around the team and smiled before looking back down at the file and opening it. "You guys can get back to sleep; we won't get there for a couple of hours, even on Helicarrier speed."

"Suddenly sounding like a leader, I see?" Steve asks, a light tone buried under his words.

I chuckled. "Only when I know what's best."

Thor leaned back in his chair and yawned. "Will you tell us a story?" I grinned and put down the folder as everyone relaxed into their chairs. Clint propped up his feet on the table and the others followed suit.

"Are you guys serious about this?"

"Go for it."

"_Okay, _um...Alright. I don't have any from my childhood, because I didn't have a childhood, so I'll tell you the stuff I did back when my childhood was _supposed _to take place.

"So it was really weird waking up after being a one-year-old because I was, first of all, not even an average human. I woke up in a baby crib in the body of an 18-year-old, so that was really, really outlandish. I didn't really know how to control my powers so I poof-ed away quite frequently," Clint chortled and Bruce smiled, "so the government researchers got frustrated.

"They sent me off to…" I paused in thought. I stopped swiveling in my chair and laughed. "I don't even remember anymore. It might have been Germany, but I worked as an officer during day, and served as Femme Fatale during nightfall.

"World War II, I remember more clearly. I finished my licensing as an MD during the summer, and I was sent back into the government labs during September to be a guinea pig for Dr. Erskine's Super Soldier Serum. The first time when I got it back in 1915, he was a real young fellow, but he aged a bit. He was still a nice man, and gosh I was devastated when I found out he was killed. But anyways, that experiment hurt and I still have the marks on my arms to prove it," I say, laughing a bit as I was buried deep in my memories. "It was an interesting experience. I met Dr. Erskine through it and Howard. They weren't as close to me as they were to Captain Rogers, as I learned later. I was a guinea pig, of course." My laughter turned bitter and I shook my head.

"So then I did the same thing. Worked as an officer of the military during the day, and as Femme Fatale during nightfall. I hated when nightfall came around, really. And soon I hated daytime too, because I was instructed to kill more. So I had to work during the day too."

"What did you do, exactly?" Tony asks, once again.

"I'll tell you that another time," I reply before continuing as Thor urged me, jabbing my arm with Mjolnir.

"And then once the war was over, I realized I had served Red Skull, and I didn't kill him because he sent me off to his army. I probably should have snapped his neck, but I didn't. So before he went on that plane and dissolved himself, he sent out his henchmen to smother me and shove me into a glass box. And then once they were killed, the United States government found me, and then decided that I should be kept there. I had my files removed by a friend a year later, and now I'm here." I looked around and saw them on the edge of falling asleep and smiled, closing my eyes and messing with their brains before opening my eyes and finding them fast asleep.

Opening the first file, I squinted, spotting Tony's name at the top. I slowly let my eyes scan and my brain process the information given. _Weakened heart, damaged liver, hypotension. _I grimaced and looked up at him as he slept, snoring softly. Setting the file down, I picked up the next one. Banner, Bruce. _Heart rate must be monitored. _I was glad that that was all the safety precautions we needed to take. Barton, Clinton. I snorted. _Anxiety. _Romanoff, Natasha. _Needs to be more careful. _Rogers, Steven... _N/A. _I scoffed and nodded. Odinson, Thor. _Needs to eat more vitamin A and K. _I stifled my laughter and shut the file and set it down on top of the others. Leaning back in my own chair, I observed the team. I wasn't really sure what to expect from this mission or from them even. Would I work well with Tony? Would Bruce get hurt? Are we going to be able to finish this mission? I rested my arms on the table and sighed, unable to get any sleep. My index fingers traced the imprints on the table and hummed out a long note.

"You should be sleeping like the rest of us instead of singing, don't you think?" I looked up and smiled, seeing Steve's sleepy smiley face. "I suppose. But there's this thing called insomnia that won't let me."

"You wanna go for a walk? Fresh air and a little moving usually soothed me when I couldn't sleep back in the day." I smiled. "I'd like that."

The top flight deck was pretty quiet, of course, but the wind blowing made it a chilly night. Steve and I walked alongside each other as he was off to my right. "Ever think about retiring, Lu?" I harrumph-ed at the endearment and sighed. "I've thought about it. Have you?"

"Once or twice before. What are your thoughts?" I smirked as his response, identifying my tone of answering in his reply. "I have mixed feelings about it. I know I can go for another century if I take care of myself. But then again, I'm turning a hundred this year and still working. Do I really want to spend another lifetime doing this?" I paused. "I don't really know. The world needs me...at least I think it does, as it needs the rest of us, but I don't know."

Steve nodded. "Agreed. Do you want to settle down someday and have kids?" I pursed my lips and narrowed my eyes in thought. "Maybe. It really depends on where the world would be in terms of crime and injustice." He chuckled and I glanced over at him. "Injustice, huh? When did you get so...stereotypical-heroine-like?"

This time I actually laughed and Steve joined in just a moment after. "I just do what I feel is right, Cap. It's the best way to go; I've learned over the years."

"You've definitely been in the right direction, Lu. It's a good thing they chose you all those years back."

"I suppose. Do you want to have kids someday, Steve?"

"Maybe. I guess it all depends on what happens in the future. I'm just not ready to settle down." I nod in empathy, running my fingers through my hair.

"I feel like you would be a fantastic mother, Lu."

"And you a fabulous father. Could you imagine though? Any of us becoming parents?" I involuntarily shuddered at the thought and Steve let out a snicker. "Sounds pretty scary, doesn't it?"

"I think we could do it though." I admit, as we make our way back down to the room.

"As a team." He finally says, as we take our seats and sink into the cushions.

"Will you ask Director Fury if we could get sleeping quarters instead of chairs sometime?" I ask, shifting uncomfortably in my seat. He smiled.

"Sounds like a good idea, huh?"

"Better than pairing me up with Tony for sure."

Steve laughed.


	8. Chapter 8: Viper

**March 29, 2014**

Everyone woke in the morning, or what was supposed to be morning back in New York. 7AM, New York, 11PM, Korea. It was pitch dark outside, as it was midnight in the Asian region. Lucy was first to get up, making her way up to the navigation deck to see where they were.

"We are currently cruising over China, and we'll be landing in about thirty minutes."

"Cool. Thanks, Frankie."

She made her way back down to where the Avengers now were, mugs of steaming coffee in front of each of them as the smell filled the air and they sat blinking sleepily. Lucy took a gulp of the drink before looking around.

"You are way too chipper right now." Clint groans. Lucy laughed. "No I'm not. I'm just as tired, if not more than you guys. Just ready to get this over with."

"When are we going in?"

"An hour after we arrive."

Everyone groaned as Lucy told them the news and looked out the windows.

"It's like, pitch dark outside though." Natasha says. Clint rolled his eyes. "Thank you, Captain Obvious." And then received a jab in the gut.

"Best time to attack, really. Taking into consideration of what happened to me way back when." Lucy says, holding the coffee mug in between both of her hands.

"You always tell us about 'way back when' but you never elaborate." Tony whines. She smiled. "Just not ready to."

"We are prepared and look forward to listening to the stories of your triumph, fatal maiden." Thor says. Lucy shook her head with a sad smile. "You're not if I'm not."

"Everyone in contact with adamantium?" I ask, as we prepare for our assignment. "No?" Natasha says, looking back at me.

"Tasha. I told you to hang onto it." I reprimand as she smiles.

"I have it. Just wondered what your reaction would be."

"I need to make sure that you guys have it. Honestly. In contact with your skin." Everyone patted at their legs for the anklet or calf brace made of adamantium.

"Good. I need to make sure you all have it on contact."

"But you know I'll break mine." Bruce says. I shake my head no. "I tinkered with yours so that it expands with you. Decided that it would be best that I actually dealt with that problem." I explain, making sure the bracelet I had on was secure.

"So what's the deal with the adamantium? Why do we need to keep it on?"

"Please just trust me on this one. I'm trying to keep you from getting hurt by me."

"What if I take it off?"

"Please don't. Have a little faith in me, Cap. I know what we're in for." He sighed and nodded reluctantly. "Alright."

"I didn't think through this carefully enough, did I?" I curse, suddenly remembering something.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't phase through adamantium or vibranium. It doesn't work." Steve grimaced and handed me his shield from off of his back. "Try it."

I gripped the edge of the metal and blinked. "Shoot. I can't." Everyone looked suddenly tense. "Try holding the straps instead." I did just that and I felt my molecules expand along with the straps. "Holy cow." Clint gasps.

"What? Wha- _oh._" Only the straps were gone and the shield stood in midair, only supported by the thin spread of molecules around it: me.

"Okay. I can do this. I think." I say, spotting my bracelet in midair in the same state as the shield. "Hang onto me." I instruct, rolling up my sleeves after compacting myself.

"Huh?"

"Hang onto me. With your bare skin. God, just do it! Tighter." I concentrated on the movement around me and I soon felt the freedom of the air between my form. My team let out sounds of awe and laughter at the sight of the shield and adamantium bands around their calf and ankles.

Compacting back, they wobbled and lost balance.

"Geez. How the hell do you do this?" Clint asks, holding onto my arm for leverage as he tried to balance himself. I smiled. "Lots of practice."

Director Fury stepped in and looked amongst us. "Try not to get yourselves hurt out there. It'll be brutal, but remember what you're after: kill, kill, destroy the building."

"How are we going to destroy the building?" Clint suddenly asks. I smirked as Nick glanced over at me. "Lucy will take care of that."

"Yes, sir, I sure will." I reply, folding my arms. He gave me a knowing nod before leaving the room.

The Helicarrier landed onto the landing pad quietly and we all made sure we had everything.

"We'll move out to the harbor in five. From there, we'll take a fishing boat out to sea, and locate where the building exactly is."

I took over from there. "Then we'll do what we practiced and phase into the building. From there, we break up into our groups, divide and conquer. Captain, make sure to assemble us in the middle of the entire building. Catwalks are all across the place, so we'll have to meet up there. Four hours ought to be enough for all of us." I explain, not sure how many agents would be in the building.

"Why do we have to meet at the center?"

"It's the only way I can destroy the building. And we all have to be there, or else." No one asked or else as we moved across the Helicarrier to the plane drop.

"So do agents only come along when it's a safer mission?"

"Yup. Agents only come along when we think of it as a medium to low threat. Otherwise we take over." I nod at the explanation and we approached the back door to the plane as it opened with a distinct hiss and whirr of gears.

The night was frigid, paired with the most air and clear skies to showcase the stars and the constellations created by them. I sucked in the air harshly before sighing.

"I'm home."

We were all dead silent during the boat ride there, waves crashing roughly and salty mist hitting our faces with little mercy. Every time I licked my lips, it was as if I had kissed a cattle's salt lick and the others agreed upon it too. When the boat came to a slow halt, my fingertips grazed the water softly as I hung my arm over the side of the vehicle.

"You doin' alright, Fatale?" I shifted my gaze towards the person soaking to me and refrained myself from making a face at my code name.

"I've been better. I'm back home and not for the reason I wanted it to be." I explain, standing up and joining my team.

S.H.I.E.L.D. agents disguised as fishermen drove the boat and stood at standby in case of accidents and unplanned incidents. Captain loosened his neck with satisfying pops and Hawkeye flexed his fingers around the quiver strap across his chest.

"Will you tell us how we're going to get down in there?" Natasha asks, walking over to stand near me.

"Well I phase, and I'll get us through by phasing."

"How are you going to destroy the building?"

"I can't tell you until the time comes. Nick's orders." Everyone jeered at the ground before an agent interrupted us.

"Captain Rogers, the area is clear and ready for commencement."

Captain nods. "Thank you. Make sure to leave at the same time the rest of the fishermen do, or it'll look more than suspicious."

"Yes, sir. And good luck to you all." We all smile in appreciation before Tony speaks.

"The building is apparently a mile away from here, 9,842 feet under the surface. Think you can handle the pressure?" Tony asks, before laughing a little at the double entendre. I nod. "If I can handle going up into space, I think I'm alright with two miles under the sea."

I look around at the team before shifting my line of sight up to the anemometer; there was no wind and perfect for molecular travel. I raised my eyebrows as I looked back at my team. "Ready? It's...now or never."

They all nod after glancing amongst each other and I smile before tugging on my sleeves. "Hang on tight, like I told you to do."

I took in a deep breath before I felt the air rushing through us. Moving us at a moderate speed towards where the building was, I glanced around us to make sure there weren't any threats near. The number of boats reduced as we neared the border between North and South Korea; there were none by the time we were able to see the marble rock line on the bridge. Soldiers with guns stood by, four on each side, staring each other down with hatred in their eyes.

"Wh-"

"Hush," I whisper, "we'll be caught."

Thor stopped in the middle of his question and I continued to move us. When we hovered just above the building in the water, smack in the middle of the ocean with only a buoy to mark the spot. Perfect.

"We're going down. Hold your breath, because I've never done this. Just yet." I add, lowering us down to the water. "On three. Three!"

I dove us into the freezing water and heard everyone exhale and the air bubbles run through. I had to be quicker. Forcing myself further, we pushed through the steel and landed in a dark room.

"The security cameras don't record sound," I explain, "but they sense all movement. I have to disable them before we can compact again."

"Where are they?"

"There should be very little red lights. They're infrared so we can't do anything. Just, hang on."

I moved us from camera to camera, frying all but the one wire linked to the display so that the picture would still show up on the main control system without alerting that there were intruders. I shifted us to the ground before compacting us, watching as everyone struggled to find balance. I panted slightly and leaned against the wall as I used Tony's reactor as a light source to check out the room.

"Cap, give us the layout."

"Clint, Tasha, move north. Thor? You and I will move east. Bruce, Tony, Lu? Move south."

"Cap, I'm sorry to interrupt," I say, "but the west side, base level two of the building is where Viper resides with her men and upper level agents. It's literally a goddamn ant hill."

"Then do you think we should start there?"

I hummed in thought before shaking my head. "No. We can start at where you want us to be at, but once twenty minutes hits, they'll know. I'll head over there to settle her after the fifteen minute mark."

Captain hesitated as did everyone else. I gave a soft smile. "It'll be okay. I know what I can, and cannot do. If I need backup, I'll call."

"Are you sure you want me to bring in the Other Guy so soon, Cap? I mean, if we're trying to keep our cover hidden as best as we can, maybe I should hold off."

"That's a good idea. Fatale, I think you should give the signal as to when Bruce can begin."

"Okay," I say, Fatale not wavering one bit, "I can do that."

"Alright. Let's go. Up to the catwalks everyone."

Everyone split up into their teams and I nervously clutched at my gun. Once the sub-teams were in the general direction of what we agreed upon, all but my group got to work. It would be a little while before we could do anything due to the amount of damage we would do to the mission, moreover blowing our cover. I looked over the edge carefully and watched as agents passed by, talking into their earpieces with utility belts full of weapons.

"_Go for it, Fatale._" Captain murmurs into the coms.

"Copy that," I reply, before giving a knowing look to Tony and Bruce. "Let's go. Bruce, stay up here until I give you the word. Tony, we're going down."

Tony and I dropped down to the ground once the coast was clear. Tony looked over at me. "Let's split up. Not too far, but just so we can clear 'em out." I nod and head the opposite direction as Tony's metal boots clang against the concrete.

My finger pulls the trigger for each agent I see and the shot lands either in or near the heart each time, every once in a while a shot landing in the head. When I didn't have time to change magazines, I tucked away the automatic before fighting it the old-fashioned way. I got knocked in the nose and put in a chokehold a few times, but got away each time with an agent knocked out cold on the concrete.

"Shoot." I curse, a sudden rush of five heading in my direction with battle rifles fully loaded in their arms. A shower of bullets landed around me, a few hitting my suit and probably leaving bruises that I'll have for a week. A shot or two broke through the Kevlar and penetrated my stomach and arm before letting crimson droplets hit the ground at a steady pace. I narrowed my eyes and raised my hand before all of them dropped in a mass of seizures; it would be enough to leave them in a vegetative state for the rest of their lives.

"What do you think you're doing, miss?"

I swiveled on my heels and came face to face with a rather hefty man backed up by at least ten men with the same, if not, better, firearms than the last batch. Raising my palm again, the men behind him soon fell into heaps as their brains were fried, quite literally. His eyes widened just in the slightest bit before turning to glance at his entourage. A shot rang through the air and the man was not in the least affected by my bullet. He just smirked and began his ambush against me. The hits stung like angry hornets and some caused damage to the suit. I ran at him before sliding down and knocking out his feet before he hit the ground with a resonating thud. A groan rose from his throat before I grabbed his chin and head. The blast from his rifle had me stunned enough to his advantage that he stood, pulling me up by my neck with just one hand. I threw my foot into his crotch and his grip released, allowing me to knock him to the ground, get a hold of my gun before shooting his face. When that method left him just on the verge of seeing the fiery depths of hell, I took a final hold of his head before snapping his neck brutally. I had no compassion when I killed, and it would all come back to me after the assignment.

I stared at the writing men triumphantly before smirking and walking down the hall, back into a full circle only to hear Tony's repulsor blasts and the sound of men running.

"It's time, Bruce. Let 'er rip!" The next thing I heard was the shouts of men, Bruce's heavy breathing, and the distinctive sound of the Hulk yelling "SMASH!" followed by his roars. I grinned.

The sound of men died down along with Hulk, and I soon found myself in front of Tony.

"Took you long enough." I tease. He laughed. "I had more men."

"Whatever. What's everyone's status?" I ask into the earpiece.

"_Hang on!" _was Natasha's response.

"_I'm clear-oh. Never mind. Give me a sec." _Clint replies.

"_We're clear." _Thor and Captain say. Along with Hulk's groans in the background and the vibrations coming from the ceiling, everyone was alright.

"There's two base levels and another upper level. Hulk is in the upper level, so Iron Man and I will be up there in a sec. Widow, Hawkeye, will you get down to the second base? Cap, Thor, first base? Second base is usually teeming with people so watch yourselves." I instruct, motioning for Tony to come along.

"_Roger that."_

"_We copy."_

"Good. Let me know if you need help and please don't screw yourselves up." I tell them, my tone sounding more exasperated than usual. They laughed. "_No promises."_

The upper floor was in ruins, but there were still men running around. Hulk was in the distant background still tearing up the place while we went ahead and began to take care of the leftovers. I went left this time, and Tony went right.

Men and women began to shoot at me from their tactical and analytical stations as I phased and went around burning, seizing agents. Shots were fired into the air and some landed in the hearts of other agents. Once I compacted, a SWAT team of HYDRA agents rushed in, hitting me with a couple of rounds before my bullets dug into their brains. Though that part was easy, running out of rounds and having to go hand-to-hand was a little trickier, especially with an opponent that was three times heavier than you and must have had recent combat training. He threw me into the ground and knocked the wind clear out of my system and got my ribs to let out a crack that would make a sadist grimace. I cried out in pain before he stepped on my wrist. I phased and pushed into his body before popping arteries, one by one, cracking bones, two by two, before ripping away his aorta and letting him bleed to death.

Phasing out of the corpse, I looked around at the technology in the room. Everything was so advanced and just as far as S.H.I.E.L.D. was. Reaching into my belt, I dug around for a USB and plugged it into a computer. My fingers clicked at the mouse and dragged files of the HYDRA Six into the drive before deleting the data in their system and yanking out the USB. I ran out of the room after leaving a time bomb and heard it explode at my tail.

I joined Tony in his battle against an army of men and women, raising a hand to seize them all into piles of agents in the midst of their seizures. Tony scoffed and let his arms hang relaxed by his sides.

"Ever wonder if you could make force fields?" I paused and stared at him.

"Like, you control molecules. So don't you think you could make force fields?"

"I've never thought of it. Maybe I'll mention it to Dr. Banner once we get ba-" I stopped in the middle of my sentence as the man in question stepped into the area, heaving and still big and green. I tensed and took a step back. My eyes shifted to the hole in the floor before taking a hold of Tony's arm. "Hey Bruce. Did you do alright?" He sniffed and seemed to shrug.

"Okay, cool. Widow, Hawkeye?"

"_Not good!"_

"Cap, Thor?"

"_Ambushed! Cleared base level one, and we're with Widow and Hawk. Not going too well!"_

"We'll be there. Don't get killed in the meantime."

"_No promises!"_

I looked over at Tony and we both nodded. "Bruce, base level two." He grunted and turned before running down to the stairwell. "Let's go, Iron Man. We've got some work to do...and a couple of copy-cats to kill."

Base level two was a wreck. Even more so than the top level. Fires raged, glass covered the entire floor, and blood and organ matter was splattered on walls, the ceiling, and all across the carpet covering.

Clint was out of arrows and was battling men with his bow and fists and feet. Natasha had run out of rounds and was in hand-to-hand combat with various men and women as fire blazed harder in her eyes than it did in the upper level I set on fire. Cap's shield made metallic noises with every hit and grunted with every move that collided with a body. He was bleeding. Thor swung and with every hit, his hammer clanged an octave or two higher than Cap's shield and caused men and women to fly. Tony was now in the game as I observed, repulsors whirring with every blast as he was attacked from all sides.

I raised a hand and seized agents, one by one so I didn't unintentionally cause damage to my team. They all let out a sigh of relief as men and women fell to the ground in seizures, either choking to death or hemorrhaging to their ends.

"Jesus Christ." Clint gasps, yanking out his arrows from bodies as I handed Natasha the rest of my cartridges.

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"You're bleeding, Cap. My, you all are. What did I say about not screwing yourselves up?"

"Says the girl with blood dripping down her forehead and cracked ribs." Tony snarks.

I hissed. "Shut up! They weren't supposed to know that." Everyone scoffed and Hulk came down to us with a loud crash.

"Men weren't dead. So I killed the rest." he rumbles.

"Thanks, Bruce."

Cap opened his mouth to speak then stopped, hearing the steps of people heading our way. I phased into the air and watched as five, six, seven stepped into the room calmly. It was HYDRA Six, and Madame Hydra, or what some called Viper.

"I see we are a bit late to the party. But that is quite alright, no? We're here to..._end _the party, per se." Viper purrs. I resisted the urge to laugh at her and watched.

"We're just getting started, my dear." Natasha murmurs, stepping up to her HYDRA version before throwing down a fight. The rest ensued, fights ruthless and competitive. I compacted myself in front of Madame and smiled viciously. She wiped the look of surprise off of her face before smiling back.

"Who are you, my dear?"

"Hell."

I raked my fingernails across her face before throwing a punch at her which she blocked. She knocked me off of my feet and I landed on the ground before she pulled off a few moves of her own. I grunted and jabbed a knee up into her stomach and stunned her before throwing her off and firing shots at her.

Madame returned the shots with what I recognized as venom darts and pulled off a few Matrix moves to dodge them. She was brutal and a challenge. A fist thrown at my side snapped another few ribs and I returned the gesture with a high kick to her nose. She pulled away and I caught a glimpse of her nose pushed in before she held it in pain. Tears from the impact dripped down onto her cheeks.

"Aww, you got hit?" I taunt, cocking my head. Knocking me off of my feet, she beat me and I beat her in a ruthless round of wrestling. At one point, we got back on our feet and began shooting at each other, either not fazing the other at all, or hitting arms or legs. My bullet finally penetrated her suit and blood spilled from her stomach. Rounds continued for minutes until I ran out. I cursed and phased through the shots.

Still having some left in me, I compacted and she caught me in the side with a sharp jab.

"I don't want you to die so quickly, sweetheart. So I'll let you off in three hours, slowly, agonizingly," Madame murmurs, twisting the dart into my side before whispering, "hail HYDRA."

I phased and the dart didn't, so I compacted quickly before pulling it out and throwing it aside. I moved into her system and clotted, popped, and ripped one vein at a time as her screams of agony filled the slowly silencing room. Her stomach acids dripped into the tissues around it, burning through both her flesh and suit. Crimson spewed from her wounds and I moved up to her upper body. The lungs I punctured and the heart I failed before stepping out of her. There was a worse way to die than to drown or be burned to death, and I had committed it. Committed it I had, and without a single ounce of emotion in my body. Madame collapsed to the ground, murmuring her last words.

"Trust nobody, especially not S.H.I.E.L.D."

I stared at her, cocking my head to the left as she choked and spit up blood.

"_Hail...HYDRA…!"_

A massive weight hit my back and I turned, raising my hand and taking more than a couple of seconds to seize the Hulk's HYDRA version.

We stood silently, staring at the bodies on the ground. I flinched and spoke up.

"We have to get to the center of the building."

The place was slowly turning to ash as fire raged through. We all stood in the center with Bruce in another man's pants, looking uncomfortable.

"What's the plan, Fatale?"

"Hang onto me tightly, like you have." I command, pulling out a tube of Lipstick.

"What, are you going to reapply your makeup? Because thi-"

"Shut up, Barton and hang on," I interrupt, "hold your breaths. It might be a while."

I uncapped the lipstick and stared at it. "In three, two, one." I threw it and the moment it hit the ground, I phased and everything around us began to melt into water. We hit the surface and everyone audibly gasped for air as I flew them towards land.

"Sorry it took so long." I say, the weight on my arms making it hard for me to continue.

"You did your best."

The pain in my side intensified and I choked when I compacted just a block away from the border. Collapsing to my knees, I huffed and stared at the ground.

"Lucy!"

"I'll be," I let out an involuntary cry, "fine." I took the hand offered in front of me and stood weakly.

"How do we get outta here?"

"I'll do it." I murmur.

"You'll call Fury for us?"

"No. I'll bring us to base."

"You had a hard enough time-"

"Shut your mouth, and hold on to my arms."

I collapsed again once we got to HQ and had Thor hold me up as we made it into the briefing room while Director Fury stared at us.

"Mission status?"

Captain looked up at the clock. "Mission completed. 0500 Korea."

"Is the building destroyed?"

"Now a part of the Pacific Ocean." I reply, holding my side tightly.

"Were there any survivors?"

"Not that we know of." Natasha answers.

"Fatality rate?"

"100%."

"Numbers?"

"Estimated 2,000." Bruce sighs.

"Substantial evidences?"

"None."

"Except for this," I add, sliding the USB across the table, "contains some crap about HYDRA Six. All other evidence deleted, system destroyed."

"Destroyed?"

"Bomb."

Nick had no more questions and stared at the blood on the end of it. I grimaced.

"Dismissed."

We all stood up at once and I was on my feet.

Then I wasn't.

**March 30, 2014: 0517; POV Change**

Lucy collapsed onto the ground and everyone jumped in surprise before rushing over to her. A pool of blood was on the ground, just below her chair as it dripped from the seat, from her side.

"Hurry. Someone pick her up."

"No, don't. I'll be perfectly fine-"

"Hush, Lucy." The girl shut her mouth and her eyes as Steve picked her up and rushed out of the room. "Don't shut your eyes, Lu."

"No need to be in such a hurry, Steve. It's all good."

"This time, it's not all good, Lucy. You're dying."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Steve stared down at her in awe and everyone's hearts dropped just a little.

"Of course not."

"I mean, it's time I get some damage done to myself, you know? I did a lot of damage to the world in the time that I've been alive and a lot of those people I killed don't deserve any of what I did."

"This isn't the time to be suicidal, Lucy, please." The girl laughed weakly and Steve winced as he felt hot liquid seep into the sleeve of his right arm.

"Then what's it time for? Ooh, I know. It's time for me to die, so please stop jogging. I'll be forever happy if I die in your arms." Steve almost stopped in his tracks when she said the last sentence and Lucy, unfortunately, noticed his flustered look. "Was I too straightforward? Doesn't that work for you though, Tony? You know, being blunt?"

Tony was startled and furrowed his brows at her words. Thor tightened his grip around the man as he slumped a little. "What?"

"It's okay. You don't have to answer. Just, if I die, my will is in my room...I updated it befoe we leff." Lucy says, words slurring as her eyes drooped dangerously. The team burst through the doors of the hospital. "Lucy, stay with us."

When Steve looked back down, her head was lolling and her eyes were shut; her whole body was limp. He cursed.

A doctor and nurses rushed to her, hooking up IVs, monitors, the works. Medical assistants and physician's assistants rushed at the rest of the team, leading them carefully to beds before beginning thorough examinations. Tony groaned loudly as he was adjusted to lie on his back. Almost everyone was badly hurt and soon on multiple drugs fed through thick IV needles poked into their forearms.

It was complete and utter chaos. Tony fell out of consciousness and into a coma before the doctors and staff decided that he wouldn't even be fit for surgery. Steve had cracked bones and sprains, cuts that bled profusely, and a needle that forced blood into his system. Natasha was unconscious next to Lucy as nurses patched up her sprained ankle and a doctor sutured the cut on her bicep that was identical to Clint's. Clint was in a way worse condition than Natasha; he had four cracked ribs, a bruised sternum, second degree burns on the backs of his hands, and a cut that was sewn up on his bicep. Thor shifted uncomfortably as a doctor wrapped up his arm in bandage and stared up at the IV. Bruce was fast asleep with a slight concussion, but otherwise alright.

"Mr. Stark needs blood now, and fast. The bones in his body are….no, sir...sir, this method….yes, sir." The doctor hung up and the ones who were conscious stared at him expectantly.

"Mr. Stark is in a very vulnerable and unstable state right now. We have no option but to do one thing, and one thing only." The doctor explains, looking nervous. Steve raised his eyebrows. "What's that, doctor?"

"Extremis."


	9. Chapter 9: Let's Be Friends

**POV Change**

"Cap, give us the layout."

"Clint, Tasha, move north. Thor? You and I will move east. Bruce, Tony, Lu? Move south."

"Cap, I'm sorry to interrupt," Fatale says, "but the west side of the building is where Viper resides with her men and upper level agents."

"Then do you think we should start there?"

Fatale hummed in thought before shaking her head. Bruce raised his eyebrows. "No. We can start at where you want us to be at, but once twenty minutes hits, they'll know. I'll head over there to settle her after the fifteen minute mark."

Captain hesitated as did everyone else. Fatale gave a soft smile and Hawkeye eyed her carefully. "It'll be okay. I know what I can, and cannot do. If I need backup, I'll call." Bruce cleared his throat.

"Are you sure you want me to bring in the Other Guy so soon, Cap? I mean, if we're trying to keep our cover hidden as best as we can, maybe I should hold off."

"That's a good idea. Fatale, I think you should give the signal as to when Bruce can begin."

"Okay," Fatale agrees, not wavering one bit, "I can do that."

"Alright. Let's go. Up to the catwalks everyone."

Everyone split up into their teams and Fatale clutched at her gun tightly. Once the sub-teams were in the general direction of what we agreed upon, all but her group got to work. It would be a little while before they could do anything due to the amount of damage they could, and would do to the mission, moreover blowing their cover. Iron Man looked over the edge carefully and watched as agents passed by, talking into their earpieces with utility belts full of weapons.

"_Go for it, Fatale._" Captain murmurs into the coms.

"Copy that," Fatale replies, voice husky as she gave a knowing look over to Iron Man and Bruce. "Let's go. Bruce, stay up here until I give you the word. Tony, we're going down."

Fatale dropped gracefully down to the ground without a sound as Iron Man landed with the sound of repulsors firing from his feet and a dull thud. He looked over at Fatale, "Let's split up. Not too far, but just so we can clear 'em out."

Fatale gave a curt nod and headed the opposite way as Iron Man's boots clanged with every step on the concrete.

Iron Man skulked down the hall, ascertaining the foes that lurked about the corners and crevices. A group of men ambushed him with fires, loud dings made from metal against metal as the superhero recognized what was going on and began to play offense.

It soon turned defense as the knocked out the oncoming soldiers and grunted as one jumped on him. Nonchalantly, Iron Man threw him off of his shoulder and kicked him out of the way, now running through men and blasting them.

At the seven minute mark, Hawkeye took a man down and yanked out the arrow in the carcass afterwards. Swiping a gun off of the floor, he shot straight into the hearts of the men who stood firing at him and grunted as he was taken down by a hefty one. Punches were thrown at his face and the favors were returned once, twice, before Black Widow took a deadly shot at the enemy. Throwing the man off of him, Hawkeye took Black Widow's hand and stood before surveying the damage around him.

"Let's go. Down towards-" Black Widow stopped mid-sentence and Hawkeye turned around and paused to listen. The sound of running men neared and he took the time to yank out a few arrows and shove them back into his quiver. Black Widow changed out magazines and began to fire as the ten minute mark hit.

Thor roared above Cap's metal shield clangs and swung Mjolnir, taking out the next five men that seemed to be in line. Captain cried out as a man tackled him from behind, a ferocious wrestle between the two before Thor knocked out the adversary. In their coms they suddenly heard, "_It's time, Bruce. Let 'er rip!_"

The two men chuckled when they heard the loud call from the Hulk and his footsteps reverberate throughout the building.

"_What's everyone's status?_" Fatale asks through the coms.

"_Hang on!_"

"_I'm clear-oh. Never mind. Give me a sec._"

"_We're clear." _Thor and Captain reply, looking around at the dead bodies as they spoke.

"_There's two base levels and another upper level. Hulk is in the upper level, so Iron Man and I will be up there in a sec. Widow, Hawkeye, will you get down to second base? Cap, Thor, first base? Second base is usually teeming with people so watch yourselves."_

"_Roger that."_

"We copy._" _Captain murmurs.

"_Good. Let me know if you need help and _please _don't screw yourselves up." _Fatale adds, sounding drained and fatigued. Captain and Thor laughed along with Hawkeye and Black Widow and Iron Man before hearing Hawkeye say, "_No promises," _though it sounded more furtive than joking.

"I thought she was going to go deal with Viper." Hawkeye says, stepping over the dead men and women as he and Black Widow make their way back up to the catwalk to get to the stairs.

"Maybe she will, just not now. She's got her head everywhere so it's understandable." Black Widow says with a small shrug, gazing over the edge of the catwalk. Hawkeye silently agreed with her reasoning and led her down to the stairs and down to the second base all while shooting at the foes.

The first base level had the leftover soldiers and researchers. The researchers scrambled desperately to try and save their work, only for their efforts to be crushed either by a shield or a giant hammer. Skulls of soldiers were crushed with no clemency and researchers were interrogated briefly to figure out where HYDRA Six were. Captain grimaced as one told him they were on base two before throwing her across the room. Thor went ahead and raided the back rooms, coming back with two tubes after destroying the rest. He tossed them to the other hero and the latter caught them before tucking them away in his utility belt. Captain pulled out a USB and jammed it into a computer, uploading every file he could find onto the device before eliminating the data on the computer and ripping it out.

"FREEZE!"

The two stilled for a moment before turning to face a firefight, the sharp, piercing sound of metal against metal ringing in the room with the agonizing sounds of men blending into the background. Captain grunted and Thor matched the sound just a few decibels louder as they both brandished their weapons at the incoming men and women. Thor began to ferociously swing Mjolnir and Captain yelled.

"Don't! The public will know we're here!"

Thor growled and slowed down just enough to take out three men, not affected at all by the crunching and cracking sounds that followed their descent to the floor. Captain cried out in pain as a bayonet pierced through his suit and into the flesh of his bicep. The Norse god turned in anger and rampaged upon the enemy men, roaring as he killed last of the men.

As Mjolnir stopped movement and Captain's shield clanged onto the ground, all that was left of the room was the remains and sparking wires of the laboratory research room along with the panting breathing of the two superheroes.

"You did good, Captain, you did good." Thor sighs, sending a whack on the latter's back and _almost _knocking him over.

"You too, big guy," Captain Rogers grunts, regaining his footing, "now let's go help Black Widow and Hawkeye. Their job is too big for just two people."

"Then let us not waste time, leader brother."

If one thought the first few levels were chaos, Captain Rogers wasn't sure what they would call the second base level.

_Turmoil? Pandemonium? The Second World War condensed into 5,000 square feet?_

The Captain was jerked out of his thoughts as a man slammed into him, ultimately causing him to knock into a metal ledge of a desk before a handful of cracking sounds emitted from his ribs. He gasped loudly for air and grit his teeth, whipping around to lash at the man with his shield. From not too far away, he heard the sharp timbre of Black Widow's cry, looking over quickly, unfortunately enough to see her get stabbed sharply in the bicep by a female agent. More men and women, armed, ran into the scene as the Captain caught sight of them and shook himself out of his stupor before thrusting himself into the fight. Hawkeye cursed in the background and a woman shrieked before a dull sound resonated from the ground as he turned to shoot more soldiers and agents.

"_Okay, cool. Widow, Hawkeye?" _came through the coms.

"Not good!" Hawkeye yells, surrounded by men of all sizes.

"_Cap, Thor?"_

"Ambushed! Cleared base level one, and we're with Widow and Hawk. Not going too well!" Captain grunts, slamming his shield.

"_We'll be there. Don't get killed in the meantime."_

"No promises." Hawkeye snorts, exhaustion seeping into his voice.

The ceiling vibrated and while the agents and soldiers stared up, the four took the opportunity to clear out more men and women before they realized that they had exposed themselves. Hulk ran into the scene, swiping at the enemies and slamming them into the walls and floors. Hawkeye was soon out of arrows and resorted to battling men with his last arrow and his appendages. Widow was out of rounds and fought hand-to-hand against opponents, taking a second to wonder why they were such well-brought up swordsmen. Fatale and Iron Man stepped into the level with a bit of cautiousness, but the cautiousness was replaced by anger and confidence at the sight of the battle.

Fatale sat back and observed as Iron Man fired blasts and got attacked by men from all sides. After scanning the room, she raised her hand and one by one, the agents and soldiers fell into spasms on the ground, unable to control their movements any longer.

"Jesus Christ." Hawkeye gasps, yanking out arrows from bodies as Fatale thrusted cartridges into Black Widow's hands.

"Yeah. Tell me about it." Iron Man says, sounding pained.

"You're bleeding, Cap. My, you all are. What did I say about not fucking yourselves up?" Fatale scolds, observing the state of her teammates.

"Says the girl with blood dripping down her forehead and cracked ribs." Iron Man snarks.

Fatale hissed and glared at the man in the metal suit. "Shut up! They weren't supposed to know that."

Everyone scoffed and Hulk came back down from wherever he was with a loud crash.

"Men weren't dead. So I killed the rest." He rumbles.

"Thanks, Bruce."

Captain Rogers opened his mouth to speak then stopped, hearing the steps of people heading their way. Fatale phased into the air and all observed as seven stepped into the room with an eerie serenity. There was no need for questions; who stood before them were now HYDRA Six and Madame Hydra, or as some called Viper.

"I see we are a bit late to the party. But that is quite alright, no? We're here to," Madame Hydra purred, pausing for a moment, "_end, _the party, per se."

Black Widow scoffed quietly. "We're just getting started, my dear." She murmurs, stepping up to her HYDRA copy before throwing down a fight, commencing the rest.

The Captain grunted as he took on his adversary, vaguely hearing and seeing the look of surprise on Madame Hydra's face and her question of who Fatale was and the latter answering that she was 'Hell'. A sharp kick to the face sent him flying onto the ground and straight into a state of pure rancor. His eyes flared red as he clenched a fist around the handles of his shield and slammed it into the face of his copycat. The latter fell off of the Captain with a grunt but continued to fight, the secondary adamantium shield clanging loudly against the adamantium-vibranium shield. Once back on their feet, their battle was from afar a graceful and intense dance, acrobatics not a challenging task for the either of them. The Captain recalled their first fight against each other, memories rushing back to him as tactics ran through his head and a slight smirk spread across his lips.

From not too far away, the metallic clangs emitting from suit on suit and hammer on armor made the battle disruptive, but usual and orderly. Tony grit his teeth and swung his fist once, fired twice, flew back once. There was a very good reason why HYDRA Six were their carbon copies; they were _almost _kicking their butts out of town.

By the time Black Widow had her heel against her copy's chin, she heard Fatale taunting Madame Hydra. She cringed and continued her ministrations against her adversary and listened to her teammate fall to the floor. Slowly the room got quieter as HYDRA Six were brought down onto their feet and dragged down into hell when the sudden wails of agony reverberated through the room from Madame's lips. Fatale was nowhere to be seen and only the assumption that she was inside of the former could be made. The torso of Madame Hydra's suit began to darken and Tony gave one last blast to his copy before letting JARVIS take autopilot.

Hulk's adversary knocked into Fatale as she watched Madame take her last breath and the girl turned to raise her hand and kill him. The team stood silently, breathing heavily as they stared lifelessly at the dead bodies on the floor. Fatale flinched, coming to her senses somewhat before speaking.

"We have to get to the center of the building."

The roar of the flame and brilliance of the fire made the members of the Avengers squint as the stood at the intermediate point of the facility. Tony was nearly unconscious and Captain bleeding as Bruce stood in another agent's pants, shifting uncomfortably.

"What's the plan, Fatale?" Captain inquires.

"Hang onto me tightly, like you have." She orders, pulling out a sleek tube of lipstick. Clint raised his eyebrow.

"What, are you going to reapply your makeup? Because thi-"

A sharp glare silenced him, "Shut up, Barton and hang on. Hold your breaths. It might be a while."

Fatale uncapped the charcoal-colored tube and stared at it for a long moment. "In three, two, one-"

She threw the latter portion of the container, grabbing onto Tony's hand firmly and phased the moment it hit the ground. Everything surrounding them began to melt into water and not before long, they hit the surface as the team gasped loudly for air during their excursion to land.

"Sorry it took so long." Fatale says, sounding winded and apologetic as the six of them weighed her down.

"You did your best." Tony gasps, somehow having the sense to thank her some way.

The seven heroes made their way towards the border, dragging their feet and limping as they did so. Natasha grimaced as she firmed her grip of her arm and Clint glanced over her with worry in his eyes. He wasn't in the greatest condition but if it was between Natasha and him, he would want to die if it meant that Natasha survived.

Just a block away from the border, Lucy choked and Steve glanced over with his guard up high. It wasn't long before she fell harshly to her knees and didn't lift her head.

"Lucy!" Steve exclaims, doing his best to rush over to her.

"I'll be-" An outcry of agony was ripped from her throat, "fine."

Steve held out his good hand to her and Lucy took it before standing with quivering knees.

"How do we get outta here?" Bruce suddenly asks, watching carefully as Lucy trudged along next to Steve.

"I'll do it." She mumbles, clinging to Steve for dear life footing.

"You'll call Fury for us?" Natasha asks, reaching for her phone.

"No. I'll bring us to base."

Tony rolled his eyes. _Like that's going to happen. Look at her!_

"You had a hard enough time-" Bruce begins, taking the words from Tony.

"Shut your mouth, and hold onto my arms."

After another near-collapsing accident once they got to HQ, Thor held Lucy up as the team merged into the briefing room under Director Fury's scrutiny.

"Mission status?" He asks, before they even got to pull out their chairs. Lucy sent him a look of pure hatred as Steve spoke for them after glancing at the clock.

"Mission completed. 0500 Korea."

"Is the building destroyed?"

"Now a part of the Pacific Ocean." Lucy groans, a hand pressed rigidly against her side.

"Were there any survivors?"

"Not that we know of." Natasha answers.

"Fatality rate?"

"100%."

"Numbers?"

"Estimated 2,000." Bruce breathes.

"Substantial evidences?"

"None." Clint murmurs.

"Except for this," Lucy interrupts, reaching into her pocket for a brief moment before sliding a USB across the table. "Contains some crap about HYDRA Six. All evidence deleted, system destroyed."

"Destroyed?"

"Bomb."

Director Fury seemed to have no more inquiries and stared at the crimson at the end of the USB.

"Dismissed."

Everyone was on their feet at once and in a sudden second, Lucy wasn't anymore.

**March 30, 2014: 0523**

"Get 1000mg. of adrenaline. Stat!" The doctor shouts, people rushing and monitors beeping erratically.

Lucy was unstable, in pain, and conscious again. Her moans were soft, breathy and one of the most heart-wrenching sounds the staff had ever heard. Fire blazed through her system as her suit was taken off of her body. She wore a black tank top and shorts underneath it, both stained with blood. The wound in her side continued to bleed and the nurses cut the bottom half of her top before they saw what was really going on. A portion of her side was ripped away and exposed the muscles that lie there. The surrounding tissue was purple.

"We need more polyvalent and soro-antivenin, STAT!"

A nurse rushed in with cases of adrenaline and handed it to the doctor while another handed him a needle covered in packaging.

"Blood pressure rising, 140/90. Heart rate rising. Patient unconscious!"

Natasha and Clint had regained consciousness in another room while Tony was away in the OR. Bruce's eyebrows furrowed in his sleep as Steve and Thor looked at each other anxiously when they heard the ruckus in the other room.

"Wh-what's going on?" Natasha croaks.

"Lucy got hit by Viper's Venom and she's dying."

"What?"

"She's dying."

"Where's Tony?"

"He's in the OR."

"What for? Is he okay?" Clint asks, blinking his eyes lazily.

"He was unfit for surgery. 70% of his bones were broken, he lost half of his blood and he had brain trauma."

"Please don't tell me he's dead."

"He's being administered Extremis."

"_Extremis?_" Steve nods solemnly and grits his teeth when he hears the clamor in the other room. Natasha watches the wall as she listens to the conversations and furrows her brows.

Nick Fury stepped into the room. He looked worried and a bit flustered as he glanced around his team. "How is everyone here?"

"Fine." Thor mumbles.

"Tony has Extremis administered. He will not be awake for another three or four days," Nick declares. "Is Lucy in the other room?"

"Can't you hear it?" Steve snarks.

Nick left the room without a word and moved into the next to watch the chaotic scene.

"Will she be alright?"

The doctor looked solemn. "With past cases, the agents were left crippled, vegetated, or dead. Comas lasted for weeks on end and with the looks of it here, she's fallen into one."

"How is she?"

"Somewhat stable. We'll have to administer antivenin for the next two hours or so, to combat the effects of Viper's Venom in her system. It looks like she ripped out the dart from her side so we had to suture that. We'll move her into the ICU after the antivenin treatments."

"How long will she be in the coma?"

"At this point? Two weeks to a month. It would be shorter, but it seems like she hadn't eaten properly for a couple of days; it slowed down her hormone production which is directly related to her metabolism and healing factor. Her healing factor is that of an average human's. Any lower and she'll likely die."

"Do we know the effects of Viper's Venom?"

The doctor sighed. "Possible paralysis, brain damage, muscular damage. Worst case scenario?"

"She dies." Nick finishes. The doctor nods. "Best case scenario?"

The doctor shrugged and glanced back for a second. "She'll need physical therapy for her muscles and joints."

Nick raised his eyebrows. "No brain damage? Paralysis?"

"None," he confirms, before he pulls out his vibrating pager, "if you'll excuse me…" Before he could leave, Nick asked one more question.

"What about the rest of them?"

"The team will need at least two weeks for healing. Agent Romanoff and Barton will likely fall in and out of consciousness and Dr. Banner will be asleep for at least another day. Captain Rogers will be sore and his bones should heal in about a day. Mr. Odinson will be fine after a night of sleep. Mr. Stark will be awake in three or four days, in the best condition of his life."

"Thank you, doctor." He nods before rushing out of the room and Director sighs before staring at the state of his new recruitment. He watched as her monitor beeped and oxygen was pumped into her system. Saline and medications hung at the IV pole and hooks and needles were in both her arms and hands. It was a scary sight for the average Joe.

"Oh, Lucy. What kind of a stunt did you just pull off?"

**March 31, 2014: 1100**

Bruce was finally awake and Clint and Natasha were past their unconscious spells. Thor was back in Asgard and Steve sat in the uncomfortable visitor's chair. Bruce, Clint and Natasha was given a room of their own and would be discharged later on today.

"Is Lucy awake yet?" Bruce asks. Steve shook his head no. "She won't wake for another month, if we're lucky."

"Wait, _what?"_

"Viper's Venom is impossibly potent, and it's been known to kill people. Lucy is lucky, for now, but I'm not sure what next."

Natasha sighed out of frustration and narrowed her eyes at the clock. She turned her eyes back at Steve who bounced his knee up and down anxiously, tongue darting out to wet his chapping lips. "Can we go visit her?"

He visibly flinched at the suddenness of the sentence and looked more distraught than usual. "Visit? Um, I think so. Can you both get ou—never mind." Clint was already on his feet and waited for Natasha to shove her feet into the white hospital slippers as she gripped the IV pole for leverage.

Steve glanced to his right and saw the extended hand of Dr. Banner and grinned a little as he accepted the offer. Bruce's hand pulled him up, out of his seat and onto his feet. Cap murmured a grateful 'Thank you' and led the remaining members of his team into Lucy's room. The walk involved a level down to the intensive care unit and down the hall thirty feet, to the left twenty, around the level once after getting lost, and to the right once ten feet because they somehow figured out that Lucy's room was secluded away from all patients.

"Visiting hours will finish at three, sirs and miss. Don't forget to wash your hands!" A nurse calls out, walking past them with a metal tray of pointy instruments on it. They chorused an acknowledging hum and Natasha scowled as she walked further away.

"'Visiting hours will finish at three,' my ass." she grumbles, her voice turning comically nasally as she imitated the nurse's voice. The four men's chuckles were abruptly cut short as they stepped into the room and saw Lucy, moreover the beeping and flashing machines that were hooked up to her body. Quickly turning the faucet on, they washed their hands hastily before nearing closer to her bed.

It was a sight that no one should ever have to see. Lucy had an IV in one hand, where its pole had various bags that only Bruce could identify, and a dialysis needle hooked up to a machine in the other arm. Her kidneys had stopped functioning in the past day and required artificial kidney functions. An arterial line in her arm beeped quietly as it measured her blood pressure and kept track of the carbon dioxide and oxygen in her veins. A respirator and its ribbed plastic tube was down her throat, resting between her chapped lips similar to the Captain's.

Lucy's neck was blotchy and purple, yellowing in some spots as if someone had strangled her. Lip split, stitches here and there, her toes sticking out from the cast on her foot and ankle. No one wanted to know what she looked like under the hospital gown after seeing the bits of skin that was exposed already. She shouldn't have been alive, but she was. Barely.

One by one, the five pulled over chairs to the bedside, scraping noises emitting from the legs of them as they were dragged across the tile. Steve swallowed thickly and licked his lips before attempting words.

"Hey Lucy." It was all he could manage and his face contorted. Bruce took over.

"Lucy. You should have said something if you were in pain during our debriefing. Probably would have saved you from this state of being." Bruce croons and Steve became envious of the latter.

"You idiot. Stubborn little thing." Clint exhales. Steve's lips twisted into one corner as more jealousy stabbed his chest. Even Clint got out five more syllables.

"You are stubborn, I'll say that. Another month, huh? Pretty brutal." Natasha murmurs, shutting her eyes. Steve sighed and became ashamed of himself; he was even jealous of Natasha. Clenching a fist, he forced himself to relax and shoved aside his envy.

"What did Madame do to you? What did you do to yourself, not eating and causing more trouble? You could have been somewhat less broken if you had eaten. You almost didn't have enough blood for yourself and you know how worrying that is?

"Stark-_Tony _is really hurting, Lucy. He's been administered Extremis and we're not sure if it's going to go alright. He'll be awake in another two or three days if we're lucky. What do you think of that?"

Of course, she had no answer for him. Instead, the monitor beeped and the respirator hissed as it forced air into her system and back out.

"Gee whiz, kid. I thought you were invincible." Clint says, a bitter chuckle trailing behind his last words. Natasha patted his arm and shook her head.

"She is, Barton. She is. Her physical exterior is nothing of the ordinary, but neither is her mentality; that's what's keeping her alive."

Steve grimaced. If that's what was keeping her alive, then he must have been a murderer. Or close to one, with the way she looked at him with spite and abhorrence in her eyes. With the way she spoke to him, a venom-less word such a rarity and when she did speak to him with sincerity, he retaliated with stiffness.

Natasha glanced at Steve and prodded at Clint before pointing her finger at the zoned-out Steve. Bruce gave a curt nod before standing and helping Natasha up.

"Steve, we're going to go ask the doctor about the state of her condition and the medication they're giving her. We'll be back with the file so just stay here, okay? Keep her company." Bruce says encouragingly.

"And talk to her, Cap. Maybe she'll be so angry after hearing your voice and wake up." Clint jokes, earning a sharp jab to the stomach from Natasha. The three moved slowly out the door and Bruce looked back once more before leaving, hoping for the best.

Steve cleared his throat and rubbed at his wrist, feeling the dull ache of his bones trying to heal along with the throb of his chest.

"Lucy...I really don't know what to say to you really. We've never been friends and we've never really talked. I know you hate me, and you have good reason for it. And you're right; I don't deserve any of the recognition I get and didn't deserve any of it back then either especially since you were the one doing so much work.

"I'm sorry. For a lot of things. I'm sorry that I got all of that unnecessary attention and I'm sorry for being so rude to you. It's not like me to do that, and I didn't do the right thing. I've always been known to do the right thing and I guess it was time for me to make a mistake, huh? It's funny how the world makes me out to be the most perfect man when I'm really the opposite. I kill people, Lucy. I don't think good men do that. I'm sorry I wasn't brave enough to tell you 'I'm sorry' when you were awake.

"We haven't been acquainted for long, and to be honest, we haven't really had time to get acquainted. Other than the time we went to the park and got chased away by the security guy, I guess we've just been too busy trying to save the world.

"I'll make you a deal, Lucille Moon. How about when you wake up, we try to save our world. We can take some time to recuperate together and become leaders together. I saw what you did out there, Lucy. We all did. You almost got yourself killed trying to save us. Us. You didn't run out. You made an effort to help us. Lead with me, Lucy, and we can make this team so perfect.

"Let's be friends, Lucy. Hmm? Friends? You've had little to no friends since you got out of that box and I want to be your friend. I'm the closest thing you have to home right now, and you know it. Tim knows it, up in the sky. Let's be friends, Lucy, and we can talk the whole night through about the war times.

"Please wake up, Lucy.

"Please let me in."


	10. Chapter 10: Don't Leave

**April 21, 2014 **

Three weeks went by but it only seemed like three hours. Time flies when you're paralyzed yet conscious in a hospital bed. It's an absolutely terrible feeling not being able to move or talk or communicate at the very least when the people you love are surrounding you for such long moments in time.

You know what it's like for me? It's like being awake, but not. It's like when you're a little kid and your parents come home to find you asleep on the couch. You're awake now that they've been crooning about you, but your eyes are shut because you want them to carry you to bed. And they do. But for me, my eyes are shut and I can hear everything. I just don't have the ability to do anything about that.

* * *

"Lucy?" Yes, I'm here. Come sit with me.

"It's been three weeks now." I know Natasha. Doesn't mean anything so far.

"Why isn't she awake?"

"She might need some more time." You're too patient, Bruce. Inside, I feel like I may never wake and I wish I got to tell you that that's what I like about you. I don't need more time though.

"You missed out on the fun, Lucy. You missed out on HYDRA getting their asses kicked and us finding out about how they've been lurking in the main HQ. That's why Fury had the one next to Avengers Tower built. For those who were authorized." Now I really want up. You know, if I wasn't stupid enough to attack Madam Hydra, I wouldn't be in this mess. But you know, it's better that it was me than anyone else.

"I would tell you more, but you have to wake up for me to do that for you." Please stop teasing me. I know it's supposed to motivate me, but at this point, I can't do a damn thing. I want to know what happened and what I missed out on and what Tony looks like after his Extremis. God damnit, Tony! I want to know why you reprogrammed that project in the first place! Why did Nick know about it?

"Hey Lucy, we'll be back in about an hour. We'll leave you and Steve to talk." It's definitely not going to be an hour. It'll be as long as Steve talks; I know that.

Steve clears his throat and stares down at Lucy's lifeless body hooked up to beeping monitors and IVs and tubes. He cringes and takes a hold of her left hand. You're always so warm, Steve.

"I had a date with Sharon last night, Lucy. I think I may begin to like her. She's a real sweetheart and she's Peggy's niece. I saw Peggy too, Lucy. I'm sorry I didn't visit for a while. You must have been lonely." You don't need to be sorry. I don't like Sharon, Steve. She doesn't seem to be very honest. How is Peggy?

"I saw the Winter Soldier, Lucy. And it was Bucky." At this point, Steve's voice cracked and his grip on Lucy's hand tightened along with his chest. It's okay to cry, Steve. I can't ask how he's still alive, nor can I tell you that this is the best thing. Whenever you lose someone and have them returned, the person that comes back is never the one you lost.

"It was Bucky, Lucy. Bucky. I lost him for sure but there he was, shooting at me like I was...like I was nothing to him. I thought the only person I knew from back then that's still alive was Peggy. I visited her and just seeing her and listening to her broke my heart, Lucy." At least you still have someone around, Steve. Enjoy it.

"The mission was insane. S.H.I.E.L.D. had been infiltrated by HYDRA and we destroyed the Triskelion. Did you know that Agent Sitwell was a HYDRA agent, Lucy? And that Fury built HQ next to the Tower because he wanted the loyal agents to be closer to him? When he found out that HYDRA was growing beneath our fingertips, he brought them closer so we wouldn't die off. I don't know what's going to happen to S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore. I thought I knew who I was fighting for." Steve, there are so many things I want to tell you regarding this. Never trust anyone, like Madame Hydra told me. Did you hear that from her? Because I sure did and I wish I had never trusted anyone in the first place.

"Let's not talk about this mission anymore, hmm? I have a nice shiner from it and I'm glad you can't see it. My date with Sharon went very well. She's uh, very similar to Peggy. She fooled me the first time thinking she was the nurse next-door, but she busted into my apartment when Nick got shot." Nick got shot?! Is he dead? This is why I hate my situation right now. I can't even persuade you not to go be Sharon Carter's boyfriend. I can't do anything.

"We had a nice dinner at an Italian place near the Tower and enjoyed a nice conversation." I sure hope your conversation didn't involve talking about her future. If I run into her I might just kill her.

"Lucy, how are you feeling? What's it like being in a coma? Can you hear me?" Steve sighed and rubbed his thumb along her knuckles. "Can you feel me holding your hand? Can you hear my stories about the mission and about Sharon? When you wake up, I want to take you to meet Peggy. Take you out to dinner so I can tell you about Sharon and my mission and what it was like for me. I mean, I came back to Incheon just yesterday so that I could escort you home if you awoke. Doesn't that make you want to wake up?" Don't do this to me, Steve. Of course I want to wake up. Please don't do this to me, Steve. This is Lucy you're talking to, not Fatale. Lucy gets her heart broken easily and cries easily.

Steve stared at her expectantly as if he was waiting for her to answer and the only thing he received was a single tear that ran down her cheek. He reached over with his free hand and wiped it away, wondering if it meant that she heard, or if it was involuntary. Steve sighed and frowned a little.

"Wake up soon. It's a little quiet around here without your molecules whooshing around."

* * *

**April 22, 2014**

The room was awfully bright and the window was open to let in some air and sunlight. My eyes watered from the brilliance of the room and I turned them so I could check out my surroundings.

When I opened my mouth to speak, I couldn't let out anything but a few syllables. Waking was definitely a lot different than being in that coma.

"Nurse!" was all I said before someone rushed in and rushed out. That someone came back with the doctor.

"Hi Lucy. How are you feeling? Tired? I'm so glad you're awake. Can you speak?" He asks, scribbling in my chart.

"Kinda."

"That's a start. Would you like some water?"

"F'you...d'mind."

"Very nice. And of course."

The nurse brought a straw to my lips and I drank, relishing in the fact that I could now speak a little better. Everything was so blurry and I felt so groggy. The doctor checked my eyes and monitors and had the nurse take out the unnecessary accessories attached to me. All I had left was some saline and antibiotics along with my heart monitor.

"Doc? C'you...no team."

He raised an eyebrow. "You don't want your team to visit you?"

"Lie...no visit. N'awake yet."

"I can't lie to them, Lucy, I'm sure you know that." I nod.

"Surprise. No team."

He sighed and nodded before taking my chart. "Okay. I'll have them set up something for you. Just rest for now, alright?"

"Kay."

I lied back against the bed stiffly and looked around again. My brows involuntarily furrowed and I stared blankly at the baby blue blanket covering me. How long had it been? How much have they been talking to me? Where was I?

I could recall bits and pieces of the conversations they had with me…something about the HQ…and Steve's date. What were specifics, though? I had no idea how long it had been. I had no idea where I was. I had no idea how many minutes, maybe hours they had spent with me. Where were they?

A lethargic pounding commenced at the sides of my head and I scowled. They want me to rest? I'm hungry! And my head hurts, so I won't be sleeping any time soon.

"Hi, sweetheart. My name's Diana, and I'll be taking care of you for the next week. I mean, I've been taking care of you for a while, but now you know! Are you hungry, dear? In any pain?" asks a nurse, cheerfully bright. She was middle-aged and fairly comforting. With strawberry blonde hair pulled up into a regulation bun, she looked fit to be here.

When she mentioned the word 'pain', it was as if my brain realized that there was a pile-up of signals from my nerves. I was in pain everywhere. My ribs felt like someone had been heavily petted by knives, my muscles ached, and my joints creaked from the inside. And that headache too, but the pain from my ribs overwhelmed that feeling.

"Maybe we can get you some morphine, hmm? I know your ribs must be hurting; you broke nearly half of them. Morphine…I'm sure we can figure out a dosage for you. Ever since your metabolism slowed, we had to recalculate your dosages and when you would need them raised and when your metabolism would return and all that fun stuff. You must be hungry. Let me stop rambling and get you something to eat."

She left before I could even reply and, though it may have been my post-comatose brain at fault, I didn't find the need to process everything so quickly. As I thought these thoughts, she returned with an aromatic tray of various foods. Diana, I think, set up my table and helped me sit up and placed a spoon in my hand.

"So we have some sort of a soup. I'm pretty sure it's a broth, for now, since we don't want to overwhelm you with more complex foods. We have some steamed vegetables here, and fruit, and a yogurt! It's all really boring so far: I must apologize for that."

I stared at the food for a moment before looking back up at her.

"Sit, please."

Though it looked like I had perplexed her, she sat down on the nearby chair as it made a leather-on-leather squeaking sound.

"Where…m'I?"

Diana smiled. "Still in Korea. S.H.I.E.L.D. base in Incheon, South Korea, my dear."

Before I could muster up another question, my doctor stepped in and smiled as he caught sight of me. "How are you feeling, Lucy? Glad to see that you're eating."

I frowned and dunked my spoon into the bowl before realizing that I couldn't manage to lift it. It was all just a big lesson on humility, wasn't it? It was for all of the times that I had acted like I was the best, and for being so arrogant, and for acting like I didn't need anyone.

Without a word, Diana smiled and scooted forward to take the spoon. A steel spoonful of broth was brought forth to my lips and I accepted it, taking the time to savor the rediscovered taste and learning how to stop and smell the roses. Or rather, to thoroughly taste the soup.

"How long?"

"Three weeks. You had a steady recovery after the first three days. Those three days were the worst, I must admit. You were close to death." My doctor replies, narrowing his eyes at the clear bag of saline before looking back down at me as another spoonful was placed into my mouth. The tepid broth felt hot on my tongue as I glanced outside before turning my head to ask another question.

"Triskelion?"

It wasn't a full question, but I hoped it got the point across. It was difficult to speak with such a stone, comatose tongue. I looked between the two of them expectantly and watched as they grew unresponsive. All I got was another spoonful.

"Maybe you should have Captain Rogers explain that one to you." My doctor managed to say, clicking his pen before putting it back in his lab coat pocket.

I frowned and observed as another spoonful was brought to my lips before Diana stabbed a piece of soggy broccoli with a fork. The doctor left with word that he would bring another bag of saline and clopped out the room. My eyes turned to Diana and I smiled.

"Where's th'team?"

She smiled warmly and offered me the broccoli. I accepted it as she began to explain.

"We have some big and tough security guards out there in the hallway. When they visit, they'll be told that you're to be left alone for the next two days. I'm sure there'll be a big chaotic scene, but we'll take care of it. Don't you worry." Diana says, poking at a piece of cauliflower and raising her eyebrows in the offer.

I took the offer and began to chew on the almost tasteless vegetable before falling deep into thought. Was this what a mother was like? What are a mother's tendencies? What was it like to have a mother?

It wasn't long before the doctor stepped back in with a bag of limpid saline and came around to change out the empty one. Narrowing my eyes, I caught sight of his name and repeated it to myself.

"Dr. Collins…"

"That's my name. Superheroes are my game."

The two chuckled in unison and I grinned in amusement.

"You work w'superheroes…us?"

"I am Mr. Stark's usual physician and I take care of Mr. Barton and Miss Romanoff's injuries as well. I traveled over here so that I could take care of the team and any possible injuries."

"Super doctor." I note, opening my mouth for the piece of watermelon heading my way. The first bite caught me off-guard and I widened my eyes at the chill and sweetness of the fruit.

"Superhero." Dr. Collins says, poking me with the end of his stethoscope before placing it over my chest. I shook my head no and waited for him to finish up.

"Villain. I cause trouble."

"Doesn't seem like it. You're not affiliated with HYDRA, right?"

"If I was, wou'I be here?"

We all laughed lowly at that and I sighed. It was already two in the afternoon but it must not have been too long since I awoke. Dr. Collins was taking a vile of blood from me when clamor broke out.

"What do you mean, we can't see her?"

"Why is she in isolation? She was fine just last night!"

"Look, having visitors interact with the patient is one of the best ways for them to recover."

"Can't we just see her through the window?"

"Let me through!"

The three of us stared at the closed door and I cringed, hoping that they wouldn't get through. I know they were just a group of stubborn asses, and I only wished that they wouldn't hurt anyone.

"Why wou'they wan'to see?" I ask, feeling the needle pull out of the crook of my arm.

"They really love you, Lucy. Captain Rogers visited every single day, except for when he was instructed by Mr. Fury to stay at the shelter. The base. And when he had that mission with Miss Romanoff. He would sit here for at least two hours every day and talk to you. Sometimes he would be so exhausted that he just fell asleep at your bed side. We never woke him though. Figured we'd let the man rest."

"But I'm mean."

Dr. Collins laughed aloud and tossed the alcohol swab in the trash before holding a new one to my arm. The clamor of both Korean and English only grew increasingly louder and I knew they would end up coming in here anyways.

"Even Thor Odinson is here. Just for today."

"Oh m'gods, even Thor." I groan, refusing the rest of my lunch. Diana cleared the table and set the tray on the floor next to my bed.

Dr. Collins stood with the surgical tray as the contents of it clattered. "I'll try and get them settled. Rest for now, alright?"

"Sure." I murmur, feeling my bed sink behind me as Diana pressed a button to before leaving the room and shutting the door.

Once I was fully reclined, I yawned a bit and lifted my arm a bit to see how stiff I really was. As I rolled my wrist, I could feel and internally hear my bones creak and my muscles pulled tightly. I crinkled my nose and drew my arm up towards the ceiling. I suppressed a groan and paused to hear Thor's booming voice getting closer. I dropped my hand and grimaced before shutting my eyes and feeling the tears form underneath my eyelids.

The door opened with a whoosh as the outside button was probably pressed, and the steps of my teammates got slower and softer.

"What happened to all of her machines?"

"Don't ask questions, Bruce. Let's just be glad that they let us in."

"They didn't quite let us in…"

"Either way, we're here. Hey, Lucy."

I kept my eyes shut and stilled myself as much as I could.

"What are they doing to you? They took away your machines which could mean a lot of things, maybe that you don't need them anymore. Is this Fury's idea of healing?"

"I guess you're getting better. You don't look so broken and you've got a little color in your face."

"Thor's here. Only for a day because he has stuff to do in Asgard, but he's here to see you. Doesn't that make you want to wake up?"

I forced myself not to frown and open my eyes, and instead continued to listen.

"We have so many stories to tell you, Lucy."

"We'll leave you and Steve here alone now. Come on guys."

Soft footsteps slowly disappeared out of the room and the door hissed before it shut behind them automatically.

"Hey Lucy. How are you feeling today? Hopefully better, but I wouldn't know. Are you awake or are they just pulling you off of life support to let you decide your fate for yourself?"

I desperately wanted to sit up and tell him that I was somewhat okay, that he should tell me all about him and Sharon and what happened during that mission. But then again, I didn't want to.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you are actually awake, but I can't tell; you've always been better at hiding things than me. I guess you're better because you're a little pinker." Steve murmurs, taking my hand. "Though your hands are still cold." My hands are always cold, Steve. Ever since that day I watched that Marine mission go wrong...it was so cold.

"I wish you were awake. I have so much to tell you and so many things to express to you. Why is it taking so long? Why are you taking so long? I know you've always been one to be quick; you get things done and you don't dumb around. Is this what you were talking about when you said you would change? Why can't you take things slow later? I know you're not ready to tell us what happened during that mission… those missions. Your partner. What really happened. But can't you be ready to open your eyes?"

Steve swallowed audibly and let his thumb run across my knuckles.

"Please?"

* * *

I was up late the next morning, when it was already bright and sunny with the other patients awake already. Diana stepped in to set my brunch and smiled at me as she checked my vitals.

"Can you say 'Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers'?"

"Peter Pipe...picked peck of pickle peppers?"

Diana was running through some silly tongue twisters with me, probably to see how I was progressing with my alertness and verbiage. From the looks and sounds of it, I wasn't doing too bad. Maybe she was just pretending so it would put some sort of a placebo effect on me.

"When are you planning on letting your team know?"

I paused and glanced at the cuff on my arm as she adjusted the stethoscope in her ears. Her eyes turned up and raised her brows in tandem.

"I'm n'sure. Tomorrow?"

"They miss you, Lucille. They really do. You are more loved than you'll know."

I snorted and observed as she took the cuff off of my arm. Her hand patted my forearm as she sighed.

"You really are loved. And the quicker you let those guys know that you're awake, the less heartache they'll have. Captain Rogers is blaming himself to no ends, Lucille."

I swallowed thickly and let my tongue graze over my bottom lip. It still felt heavy, and I felt weary. What was I to do? What was I to say?

"Promise me you won't keep them waiting for too long."

"Just 'til I can wheel myself. Then I'll."

Diana nodded and brought over my tray of food. On it was nothing but fruits and vegetables and the usual gelatin and broth. Who was I to say "usual"? It had, after all, been only a day since I awoke.

Diana must have seen the disappointed/bored look on my face because she laughed and pulled out a wrapped piece of swirly peppermint to set on my tray.

"You'll only eat this for another few days. It gets bland, I know."

Surprisingly, I had enough strength and ability to pick up my fork and push the prongs of it into a slice of apple. Diana smiled and asked me if I needed any help before leaving the room.

Slowly, I chewed on the fruit and relished in its sweetness. I began to think about Steve. Steve and his apple-pie righteousness.

And then I frowned. Why would anyone blame this on themselves? Why would anyone want to sympathize with me? They had no good reason to try and think that this was their fault; it was all of my idea. It was all because of my stupid idea.

**POV Change**

Lucy grimaced as thoughts raced about her head and suddenly dropped the fork. It made impact with the ground with a loud and sharp clang before it thudded once more and stopped. Her hands flew up to cover her face as she lurched forward after being overcome by a sob. No tears were let out as she tried desperately to stop her emotions. With no control over her grief, she let the limpid tears roll down her cheek and drop to stain the sheet.

The door to the room hissed as it announced a new guest and Lucy assumed it to be Diana.

"Please, g'away." she whispers, voice shaky and wobbling.

"Why should I go away?"

"Please, Diana. I just want to be alone."

"Who's Diana?" the voice murmurs, gently grabbing Lucy's wrists and pulling them down so she could see.

"Steve."

He smiled.


	11. Chapter 11: The Core

**April 24, 2014**

"Why are you crying?"

Lucy shook her head and struggled to stop. Steve frowned like he saw a kicked puppy and let go of her wrists to swipe at her tear-laced cheeks. She sniffled and looked at him as he sat down on the seat nearest to her bed and scooted in closer.

"Why are you crying?" He asks again.

"Because I'm sorry."

His frown turned into a face of compassion and sympathy and he waited until her breathing turned normal again.

"When did you wake up?"

Lucy smiled. "I was awake before th'team broke in here other day."

Steve's face stiffened. "What?"

"I wanted to surprise you guys and come walking in perfectly alright, but I foun'that waking from coma's nothing like on television so I was trying to figure out wh'I wanted to do and wh'was-"

Steve's laugh broke through the rambling and she stopped, raising her eyebrows.

"Okay, okay, okay. I'm glad you're awake and somewhat well. Did they tell you anything about your future treatment?"

"I don' remember." Lucy says after a little pause.

"That's alright. We can ask them. Are you in pain?"

"I'm stiff and sore, but I don't hurt." She replies, looking down at her silhouette under the covers. Lucy paused and looked over at Steve.

"What happened to S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Lucy asks, furrowing her brows. Steve pursed his lips and sighed.

"This is a long story, Lu. You sure you wanna hear all of it?"

Lucy nodded and leaned back against the pillows to listen. "Go 'head."

"Well…it all started with a mission in Washington a couple of days ago and a jog to start off my morning…"

* * *

"And I got back a few days ago hoping that I could escort you home soon." Steve concludes, smiling.

Lucy returned the smile warmly. "Thank you f'telling me."

"I don't know what's going to go on with S.H.I.E.L.D., but all we know so far is that Director Fury ordered very certain agents to go into the Headquarters next to the Tower. You know what they call it?"

"Hmm?"

"The Core. Can you guess why?"

Lucy hummed, pursing her lips in thought. She soon shrugged. "I'm not sure. Tell me?"

"Their reasoning is clever, I must admit," Steve chuckles, "because they said one reason was because we are stationed in New York. The Big Apple?"

"Okay," Lucy says with a laugh, "that it?"

"And they didn't want to call us The Apple or The Big Apple because that's boring. So they said that S.H.I.E.L.D. is nearly in ruins like how an apple is when it's close to the seeds? Something of the sort. And we're The Core because we're the center of all bases."

She let out a weak laugh and shut her eyes before swallowing thickly.

"Are you alright? Are you in pain, Lucy?"

Lucy shook her head no and opened her eyes. "I feel a lil' weak. Maybe it's because my metabolism's rising."

"Should I call the nurse for you? Are you hungry?"

"Not hungry-dizzy and lightheaded."

"Let me call Diana. Maybe they can add some glucose to your IVs. When did they take you machinery away?" Steve wonders to himself, standing and reaching over Lucy to press the call button.

Diana was in not long after with a smile on her face that faded once she saw the pallor of Lucy.

"Are you alright, dear?"

"I'm a lil' too dizzy." Lucy admits, taking in a shaky breath.

"Sounds like your metabolism is rising if you ate not too long ago and you're feeling dizzy already. Does your head ache?"

Lucy shook her head no with a grimace on her face. "The lightheadedness making me feel nauseous."

"Let's get you some more fluids in you then, hmm? Your saline is nearly gone anyways." Diana says cheerfully, promising to be back in less than a minute.

She returned with an IV therapy cart full of various fluid bags within the next thirty seconds and wheeled them near the table next to her IV pole.

"So now that your metabolism is rising, we'll have to either change your bags at a faster interval or hang multiple bags up. I'm going to leave that choice up to you, sweetheart. We have a higher concentration of dextrose and a refill of your antibiotics, and some other fun stuff." Diana explains, replacing bags and switching them. She quickly left the room with the cart before coming back again with a tray with a plate full of simple fruits.

"I thought you might feel a tad bit better if you had something to chew on. Do you need anything else? Another blanket or a pillow? A phone call?" Diana offers.

Lucy smiled gratefully and shook her head no with a quiet "thank you". Diana smiled and left the room to the two superheroes.

"You ought to have a little something." Steve suggests, raising his eyebrows a little.

Lucy looked up at her IV bags and watched the fast paced at which the fluids dripped. Her eyes turned back down to the plate of cherries, watermelon, grapes, and jello.

"At least a cherry?"

Lucy shakily skewered a piece of watermelon before placing it in her mouth and chewing.

"I miss your vitality." Steve admits, sighing.

"'M sorry you have to see me like this. I should be up running soon." Lucy manages to say all the while fumbling with a grape, She paused. "Tell me of Sharon. All I heard was lying about being neighbor and you going on date?"

"Could you hear what we were telling you when you were in that coma? I only mentioned going on a date with Sharon when you were still under." Steve asks.

"I could: bits and pieces but they're very foggy."

"Ah," Steve says. "Sharon..."

"She good to you?"

He chuckled a bit then turned quiet for a moment. "We're not even decided for our second date yet, Lucy. I don't know if I can trust her either."

"Because she lied about one of the biggest secrets of S.H.I.E.L.D." Lucy says, comprehending.

"Right. I mean..." Steve says, continuing on as Lucy began to sink into her own thoughts.

_What would Steve think about what I know about her past? About her... affiliations? _

"So we'll see about that." Steve concludes.

"Give..." Lucy paused and sighed to swallow her pride. "Give her a chance. Maybe...just. Maybe she'll be worth time and trust."

"Sounds like you expect her to marry me." Steve says jokingly.

_You and I are end game._

"You should give her a shot. See how well it plays against big heart of yours."

Steve blushed bashfully and smiled. "My heart isn't any bigger than yours, Lucy."

Lucy paused and wondered if she should differ and decided she wouldn't before shrugging and letting him place another cube of watermelon into her mouth.

"Why do you have a place in D.C. if you have a spot in Tower?"

"I used to work over in the Triskelion quite a bit and decided that getting a place there would be a good idea. It's not too lived in."

"And where you met Sharon."

"Right. She had the apartment down the hall from me."

"I see." She replies, staring at the water for a moment before it levitated and dropped back down with a clang. Her hands flew up to her temples to help remedy the sharp pain that ensued.

Steve instinctively reached for her and took the glass away to set on a table. "What's wrong, Lucy?"

"I tried to drink water without using my hands and didn't work."

"Maybe manipulation is a little too much for now. You hit your head pretty hard when you went down."

Lucy just nods and looks towards the door to see if a nurse was around.

"Do you want painkillers?" Steve asks, quickly catching on. She nods and grimaces further as the chair squeaks and Steve leaves the room.

He came back with Diana and she added another bag to the pile and changed out three of the saline bags.

"This is going to make you sleepy very quickly. You can't fight it or else it won't work." Diana explains. Lucy couldn't tell if she was lying or not, maybe due to the fact that she was an ex-field agent or because she was just a comatose patient. She nodded and watched the drops fall and descend down the tube. Diana left with a smile in response to the thanks she received and Lucy had Steve change her bed back to sleeping position after moving the food away.

"Will you be here when I wake up?" Lucy asks softly, suddenly fearful of sleep.

Steve's heart cracked a bit at the sound of her frail voice and nodded. "I'll be sitting right here."

It was unlike her to sound so needy, but selfish was something he was happy to see at the moment.

"Sleep, Lucy. It won't hurt." Steve whispers, holding her hand gently. With a nod, she shut her eyes and soon the heart monitor leveled out and slowed a bit. Steve waited until he felt sure she would be okay, let go of her hand, and left the room but not without a second look back once he opened the door.


	12. Chapter 12: We Need Your Help

Steve was there when she woke after his first promise, and the couple of times after that, and then every time after that.

**May 7, 2014**

The stay in Korea after the coma scare was nothing special. Lucy worked through her physical therapy and slowly picked up the pace again. One day, the team saw monuments and spent hours around the country. It wasn't necessarily fun or glum either. Lucy just tended to tell them where they should look, explained to them what was the significance was, and let them run free.

But they didn't do that. They hung around the poor girl and observed as she emotionlessly touched the walls of buildings, a house, statues, stared lifelessly at certain areas.

"This is where my old home used to be."

"This is where my first mission was."

"This is where I ran into my grandmother."

She didn't try to be nice to them anymore, nor did she try to be malicious. She was just…in essence, herself. Whenever she was asked a question, she nodded and answered it. Whenever a joke came out of Tony's mouth, she didn't join in in the laughter. Lucy still somehow coincided with the soldier she seemed despised. She bought them things with the bonds she's kept over the years and treated them to things they were interested in. When they would go home for the day, Lucy brought them to the base, then left again. When night fell on them like an anvil, each were left with the things they lingered on for a moment too long for it to be considered browsing.

Her physical therapy continued on into the gym and not even a day after, she was given the 'okay' to go back to The Core and the Tower. Tony suggested that they go home immediately, but Lucy refused, opting to stay for one more day.

**POV Change**

I confused Tony terribly when I told him I wanted to stay for another day but he agreed without another word and instead let his eyes asked the questions.

"I want to visit one more place before we leave."

The morning after they let me discharge from the hospital to go back to The Core for extra tests, I changed into the same outfit I wore when I ran into my grandmother all of those years ago: the plaid button down and jeans. Natasha recognized the get up and let her stare linger for a moment longer than she normally would. I swallowed thickly and left the room to walk down the hallway of our barracks.

I had the pleasure of a security guard stopping me to question where I was headed before flashing him my temporary scan card and leaving the campus. Opting to take traditional transportation to where I needed to go, my feet carried me to the nearest bus stop and I took a moment to read which bus I had to take. It would be a transfer and a ride in the subway before I would get there.

I waited for the correct number bus to arrive before I scanned my public transportation card and listened to the beep of its confirmation. I sat down in the nearest seat and pulled out my phone and earbuds to fit in with everyone else. Once I heard the nearest bus transfer to where I needed to go, I stood and scanned my card again before stepping off of the bus. I waited for the next number to come down and I boarded again and sat for the rest of the way there which took a little less than half an hour.

My gaze traveled down from the bus stop to the stairs down into the subway station and sighed a bit before heading towards the staircase to catch the oncoming train. I stood, holding onto a steel bar for leverage while the train made its way to the next stop. I had three more to go. I had given up my seat to an elderly woman who thanked me with a wrinkled smile. I bowed and returned the smile before taking my spot next to the pole.

When my stop finally arrived, I left the train and headed off to the hills and stopped once I arrived at the gate. My eyes scanned the area and looked up at the impossibly blue, clear skies. I walked in and bought a bouquet of flowers before giving a glance at the map and wandering further.

"12803…12803…" I mumble, walking down a row of headstones.

My eyes caught sight of gravestone number 12803 and halted in my tracks. I sank down onto my knees and set the flowers down gently onto the grass before the marble.

"Hi Mom, Dad. How are you guys?" I ask, sitting down and settling. I cleared my throat. "I guess I should speak in Korean to you guys instead of English. My bad."

I sighed and looked around at the rolling mountains and the verdant grass around me in contrast to the dead atmosphere of the cemetery.

"How are you guys?"

My line of sight turned down to look at their gravestone. It read precisely of their names, Betty and George Moon, along with their birthdates and death dates. My mother was four years younger than my father and they died on the same day just one year apart. My father died first in 1973.

"It's been a little while since I visited you guys, hmm? This might be it for a long time, I think. Sorry I missed your multiple birthdays and anniversaries. Sorry I'm not here often enough and I'm sorry I didn't know you as well as I should have."

It was a strange thought, to not have known my parents when they were alive and well and to instead know them when they're six feet under. I had even watched them when they were alive to make sure they were living the lives they should have for their work ethics. I confirmed it with my own eyes that they were well off, well-fed, but I also confirmed that they were not well in terms of happiness. All I ever got to hear from my father was (in his exact words):

"We should have never given her up."

From my mother, I heard more. I wish I had not heard more, for it became a weakness to me. Every night that I visited was full of her sleep talking, begging for me to come home, expressing her infinite love to the daughter she would never fully know, crying out for the lost child of hers while the child she had at home wondered why he could hear his mommy cry out for a girl that seemed to haunt the house they lived in.

I went to visit the next person after I said my farewells to my parents. #93852.

I sat down in front of the headstone and set a flower close to the stone.

"Hey big brother. Hangin' in there alright?"

Thomas was a fighter. He always fought himself on whether or not it was him that caused our parents' grief, fought for his beliefs, fought for the U.S. when they needed him. My poor brother knew what it was like to live alone with no parents to tend to him because they were too busy trying to help him survive so he have his first-born a baby sister. A sister for his son. A Lucy to Thomas.

He blamed me for everything once he found out that I was why they were how they were. He was only 10. And when Tommy found out who I really was when I visited just a year before the second World War began, he was 26 and never forgave himself for blaming me.

That day was one I would never forget.

"I'm sorry I haven't visited in a while. I've been busy with work, you know? Still working and such. Nearly got killed in this last mission. I'm sure you and Mom and Dad were watching the whole time. You guys probably saved my ass, so thanks. Sorry I didn't get to see you before I left last time."

He died two years before I was let out.

"I don't know how you did it, but you lived a life better than I have in a shorter amount of time. Maybe it was because I spent most of my time lollygaggin' in a box, but you lived way more than I have. Sure I might have gone more places, but I sure as hell didn't live it like you have."

I pulled a few weeds out of the ground around his headstone like I did for Mom and Dad before standing and dusting myself off.

"I think this'll be the last time for a while, Tommy. I'm sorry to say it, but my duty calls and this time, I think it's for real. I found some people that I want you to watch: they mean a lot to me. Thanks, Tommy. I love you."

**May 8, 2014**

"Ready to head back to The Core?"

"Ready to finish up hospital tests and get back in the game." Lucy replies, looking up from the design on the table.

"You…never did get to translate anything for us, did you?"

"No I did not. I sure hope that wasn't the only thing you remembered from this mission,"

Natasha smiled and shrugged. Lucy chuckled under her breath and looked up at the monitors.

"Five minutes 'till takeoff. How exciting."

"What did you upload onto that flash drive you gave to Fury before he died and disappeared off of the face of this planet?"

"Everything I could before we bombed the system. I have no idea what's in there." Lucy says before pausing. "Does no one know where Fury is?"

"He's dead. Six feet under." Steve says, glancing around the room to make sure it was just the team present in the room. The door was shut.

Lucy nodded and glanced into Steve's eyes to make sure she understood.

"But now what? We only have The Core, and some other secret bases that we know are either overrun by bastards or completely safe."

"We have no idea. We couldn't manage to pull anything out of the agents here, so we're just…the Avengers. Agents of who the hell knows." Clint says.

"Did the agents here seem to know _anything?_"

"Nothing. They're so engrossed on what occurred with the HYDRA base just a couple hundred miles away from them and getting rid of residue from their traitors that they could hardly pay any attention to the rest of us."

"Coming home should be interesting." Bruce says.

"It should be really , _really _interesting. Did you guys get to scope out the place aside from the bunkers?"

Tony gave her a look. "Did you really just ask that question, Europa?"

Lucy shot back an equally challenging look. "What did you find?"

"We managed to get some ideas up for Dr. Banner's clothing issue and also convinced Reed to send Johnny down here to help with it."

"Reed…Johnny…" Lucy mutters, furrowing her brows. She looked up from her stare with a smile. "Reed Richards and Johnny Storm?"

"Do you know them?"

"I don't know them, but I know of them. Why did you get Johnny down here?"

"He was the last component we needed to solve Bruce's issue."

"That sounds awfully ominous and would rather we wait until we get formally debriefed in The Core to listen to an explanation." Lucy sighs as the intercom announces takeoff.

"What do we do now? Who takes over now that he's dead?" Bruce asks suddenly, after they're cruising.

"I'm sure Fury had a back-up plan. He never fails to surprise us, so he should have something for us to look forward to." Natasha says.

"I can't wait to see what he comes up with." Tony grunts, shifting in his chair.

"Now that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s been labeled as a terrorist organization, there isn't much left to do, is there?"

"Nothing but puttin' it all back together."

"And that's enough to keep us busy for the next lifetime."

Once they arrived at The Core, each were patted down severely before sent through a scanner. They gave up their I.D.s and when Lucy handed them her temporary scan card and explained to them that she didn't have one (for they never registered her into the system,) she was put in handcuffs and kept to the back of the group as they merged inside. The building was nearly empty with areas that needed more attention and rebuilding than others.

"After the civil war occurred, many of our core agents left to pursue careers in the CIA, DARPA, NSA, etc. figuring that they could put more of their trust into them."

"Core agents?"

"Those who Nick Fury trusted enough to assign them to The Core." The man in charge of Lucy explains.

"And so we are left with how many?"

"Nearly 2% of what we used to have."

"_Oh_."

Thor had rejoined them and together, the seven of them were led into a room and Lucy stiffened at the feel of the adamantium alloy plating of the room. Whoever they were, whatever they were going to do… they knew what they were doing.

They took their seats at the table as the door slid shut and waited for what was to come.

The door hissed as it opened and a group of agents entered the room to stand before them.

"My name is Melinda May. I am here to begin your presentation to you." One says, narrowing her eyes at the team.

"I have here with me my team of agents, Leo Fitz, Jemma Simmons, Skye, and myself. We've been working exclusively on what has been going on with S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA."

"Do you know of Director Fury's whereabouts?" Thor asks.

"No. We don't. As far as we know, he's dead."

"What did you want to tell us, Agent May?" Natasha asks carefully.

"We need your help."


	13. Chapter 13: Technopaths

**May 9, 2014**

Before any part of her life was to be devoted to the battle between HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D., Lucy visited the laboratory to finish her blood work and other tests to receive the 'okay' to get back into the field. Almost all was back to normal with the exception of some of her muscles.

And her mental state.

No one was sure what damage had been done to her state of mind. The psychological tests given to her all came back stamped "NORMAL" in bright red, but she definitely wasn't what everyone remembered as _her _kind of normal. She was… different.

As Bruce looked through the tests scrupulously, the physicist flinched out of his thoughts and looked down at Lucy calling his name.

"Do you know if anyone began looking through the files that we managed to save during the mission?" Lucy asks.

"I heard that we have a few of our technopaths looking through the data bit by bit. The encryptions are complicated, from the looks of it."

"Are they actually technopaths? As in, were they genuinely born with it?"

"Not quite. They're just very good at doing what they do- encryptions, computers, etcetera."

Lucy nodded thoughtfully and exhaled deeply. "When did everything become so… chaotic? I mean, HYDRA?"

Bruce sighed. "Apparently Fury knew about it the whole time and just… let it breed larger and larger. All apart of his masterplan to keep his strengths, us, at his fingertips."

"I know. _I knew._"

"What?"

"I knew what he was doing. I read all of the files. I read them all so long ago and I didn't think it would get so out of hand. I didn't know they were so plentiful. I didn't know. I just didn't and I should have stopped it. But I didn't-"

"Because you knew you could trust Nick of all people." Bruce says, nodding.

"But _I knew! _I knew this whole time and you know why I can tell you this? Before she died, she told me to never trust anyone, especially not S.H.I.E.L.D. She knew. I knew."

"What's important is that we're fixing things now. We're settling again and while the whole world knows who we are, we're fixing everything. Slowly, as we burn out the last few." Bruce says, stopping and holding her shoulders as she stared out blankly.

"Okay." She whispers.

"Come on. They're probably waiting for us in the Tower."

Lucy nodded and motioned towards the way of the hospital.

"Will you take me back to S.H.I.E.L.D. General? I need to grab my stuff from the containment dorm."

"They actually call it that?" Bruce asks, closing the file and handing it to another researcher before walking out the door with her.

"It's a containment dorm and it contains everything within them…patients, emotions and all."

Today would be the first time Lucy got to visit the Tower since they arrived back at The Core. After Agent May had asked for the Avengers assistance in the war between S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA, Lucy was sent straight into the containment dorms in the hospital and kept far from the Towers. Containment dorms were S.H.I.E.L.D.'s way of keeping their eyes on certain patients that don't necessarily require in-patient treatment. They had her stay for a night.

Bruce held open the door while Lucy stepped in with a duffel bag and waved hello to the receptionist lady. Ella.

Lucy pressed the button for the elevator and Bruce joined her side before the sound of the bell rang. Jarvis greeted them warmly once they boarded.

"_How was your stay in S.H.I.E.L.D. General?_" He asks.

"Not that fun, but more boring than anything. It was just for a day so no complaints. Where are we going?"

"_The communal floor, Dr. Banner?_"

"I think it should be sensible."

"I'm not comprehending what's going on here." Lucy states as they begin to ascend.

"You'll see." Bruce says simply with a grin.

Lucy sighed at his answer and waited for the next 'ding' of the arrival. She stepped off first and her eyes widened drastically at the sight before her of the communal floor.

"What the hell happened?"

"We had a bit of a remodel job."

"Oh. _Oh._"

"We didn't let you come visit the Tower because we were changing everything. Surprised?" Tony asks, suddenly appearing in Lucy's line of sight. She smiled and dropped her bag before going to hug Tony. He chuckled and hugged her back tighter than usual before letting go and looking at her,

"How was prison?"

"Not that bad. Boring, but not bad."

"How do you like the new floor? Pretty snazzy, no?"

"It sure is, Tony. You outdid yourself." She says, looking around at the level while Bruce stood in the kitchen to sort through the pile of papers on the island.

The extensive windows that stretched around the room provided a profound view of the city and the furniture was updated with bigger sets and with less of a modern look and more of a homier look. There was an overstuffed couch made for at least nine along with a matching loveseat and a suspended chair. A broad rug and a few bean-bag chairs tied up the whole atmosphere. The largest television Lucy had ever seen was situated on the wall opposite of the couch.

A kitchen was not too far to the left of the elevator. With cherry wood accents and a majority of the counters white, it brought a refreshing feel to the level. At the island was three stools and at the dining table was eight chairs. One at each end and three on either side. It was perfect.

The hallways didn't look the same at all.

"What happened to the halls?"

"I tore down some walls in the suites, made bigger suites and changed some of the bathrooms. They're now very spacious guest suites in case we have Rhodey or Sam stay over for whatever reason."

"Did we get kicked out?" Lucy asks, turning around and looking at Bruce. He smiled.

"Not quite. Come with me, my dear."

Tony took Lucy's hand and they walked over to the elevator as it slid open and shut behind them.

"Jarvis, take us to level 61."

"_Yes, sir._"

The elevator began to descend down and Tony had a smile wider than the Cheshire Cat's. Lucy eyed him carefully and waited for the bell.

When the doors slid open, her eyes widened even further and his smile a bit bigger.

**POV Change**

The room was flawlessly white and open, just the way I like it. It wasn't a faded shade or an ivory, but a bright, fresh hue.

An ivory couch sat at the back of the room, in front of the flat-screen TV mounted onto the wall. A large window that took up the majority of the wall was at the end of the couch. The wood was a beautiful cherry oak that gave contrast to the room. There was a kitchen with sparkling white counters and black cabinets not too far from the private elevator. There were two hallways on opposite sides of the studio.

When Tony noticed the question marks in my eyes as I stared at the hallway next to the TV, he spoke up: "That hallway leads into your bedroom and bathroom. Ginormous bathroom, even bigger bedroom. The other hallway has two spare rooms and a bathroom.

"I wasn't sure what else to put into the room, and I tried to keep it in the same way your old suite was in case you didn't like what I wanted to put in. When you're ready, I have the order catalog and design book."

"I can't believe you did this for me. I'm touched. You did this for all of us?"

"It was the least I could do for the friendship that you guys give me." Tony says, making a face after he finished his sentence.

"This was very sweet of you and very unnecessary. Thank you."

He smiled gently and squeezed her shoulder before leaving to let her explore.

* * *

When Tony had left the studio and left Lucy to her own devices, she moved from her position, set her stuff down next to the TV, and let her feet take her over to the windows near the couch. She looked outside and down to the ground of the city. Her heart fluttered a bit at the height and she phased herself outside to test the vulnerability of the glass. She passed through easily and without complications before coming back in and testing the feel of the wood beneath her feet. There was no rug in front of the couch but instead a small glass table with the remote to the entertainment system. It was huge, and definitely Tony-like. Lucy smiled at it and allowed a short chuckle before walking over to the kitchen area and looking around.

The floor was tiled with dark marble and the counters were a sort of glittering white. The cabinets were a deep, nearly black cherry oak with stainless steel handles. Lucy was somewhat afraid to touch anything and instead opened the fridge (which had a touchscreen, for God's sake) with manipulation. It opened slowly and revealed it to be nearly full with everything from kale to almond milk.

She rolled her eyes and shut the door before looking through the cabinets with an interested glisten in her stare. She was glad to see a simple set of various-sized dishes and a small variety of cookware for her to work with. When Lucy opened up the last few cabinets after going through storage containers and mugs and glasses, she let out a gasp followed by a sigh. There were kitchen appliances filling the cabinets entirely. There were things she had never even seen and noted to herself to ask Jarvis about them later.

After her exploration in the kitchen, Lucy grabbed her duffel bag and made her way down to where her bedroom was supposedly. There was just one door at the end of the hall and one to the right. Proceeding her decision-making game of eenie-meenie, she chose the door to the right and opened it to marvel at the sight. It was not the bedroom.

The door led to a small, closet-sized room that held her battle suit and utility belt. There was enough room for two more suits and there was a slight beep as she walked in and Jarvis immediately greeted her.

"_Welcome to the Suit Room, Miss Lucy. I've been expecting you."_

He sounded cheerful and happy to see her in the room.

"_Master Stark has made each of the team a room in their studio for their suits. Of course, there may come a time where you will not be available to get your suit and we are working on producing another for travel purposes. Is everything to your liking?"_

"Of course it is, Jarvis." Lucy sighs, stepping further into the room to look closely at her suit.

"_We have repaired the damages done to your previous suit."_

"I've noticed. Tell Tony 'thank you' for me, please. I'll be down to tell him myself, but…at least let him know that I appreciate the Suit Room."

"_Certainly."_

"Thank you, Jarvis."

"_My pleasure, Miss Lucy. And again, welcome back."_

Lucy smiled and stepped out of the room before the door locked behind her with a click.

She took her bag and opened the door to what was supposedly the bedroom and her eyes widened. She imagined Tony watching her reaction in his room and broke out of her stupor with a laugh.

The room was _enormous. _There was a door at the right end of the room that opened to a bathroom that she only saw the first part of and another door that led to the closet.

The dresser that she had was nowhere in sight. Her bed was replaced with a four-poster bed in a crisp white color and a vanity was set up just a few steps away.

Curious, Lucy neared the vanity and glanced around it before pulling open a drawer slowly. After a bit more of a look through, she found that half of the drawers were filled with makeup and jewelry whereas the other half were empty, ready to be filled. She bit her lower lip as she narrowed her eyes at the tin case that supposedly held a palette of nude-hued eyeshadows. Pursing her lips, she shut the drawer before looking up at herself in the mirror. At the recognition of her eyes on the glass, the lights surrounding it blinked on. Lucy smiled in surprise before shaking her head and moving away to sit down on the side of her bed.

It had a different feel to it and there were two nightstands on either side of the frame. On top of them were matching lamps. Lucy stood after a little while of staring at the wall and unpacked to discover that her old dresser was in her massive closet. There was a new wardrobe in the dresser and clothing hanging on the racks. There was a separate set of racks for shoes and in them were an amount of shoes that Lucy would never get to wear in two lifetimes.

There wasn't much in the room for as big as it was, and it felt empty.

She didn't want to mention it to Tony.

* * *

"Tony, it's amazing. When did this all happen?"

"I came back after Korea and had everything redone. Most of the floors just needed a little revamping because most of it was for Stark Industries."

"What's on the other floors if I'm on the 61st?"

"The first 53 are for Stark Industries and extra S.H.I.E.L.D. work, 54 and 55 are for Bruce and I." Tony explains, watching as she came around the island and sat down to listen to him talk. "The gym is on the 56th and then from there is me, Bruce, Natasha, Clint, you, Steve, Thor, and then this floor."

"Which is the…64th."

"Mhm, and then the floor above us are some more formal guest suites in case we have more guests than Rhodey and Sam. 66th is the molecular analysis room made specially for you," to which Lucy smiled, "and we have 67-76 for specialty research and 77th is the War Room."

"How did you remember all of that stuff, Tony?"

"Remember what they gave me when I was the one dying, Lu?"

She tilted her head a bit to the left and raised her eyebrows. "No. I was dying during that time as well."

"Ah, that's right. Well, they gave me Extremis. A modified version of it."

"No they didn't. That thing killed people."

"That's why I had it modified, in case I needed it. I-"

"Could have died. What were they-no," Lucy sighed, "I'm not even going to argue."

"It basically gave me really good reflexes, the cool healing factor you and Cap have, the ability to control my suit without the help of Jarvis, and I'm kinda like a technopath now."

"A technopath…I think I knew a technopath once…"

"We have a technopath on the list of people we need to recruit again. Her name's…Ariadne?"

"That sounds too familiar." Lucy admits, her stare going blank.

"Anyways, we'll find her. How are you? How did the containment dorm treatment go?"

"It wasn't fun, like I mentioned. Boring heavy-duty physical therapy and vitamins! Lots of blood drawn."

"Physical therapy, hmm?"

"Lots of it. A whole lot of stretching."

"Is everything alright now? Nothing torn, broken, bruised?"

"I'm as good as new. That's one good thing that came out of being a lab rat. Where is everyone?"

"Probably on their respective floors. Jarvis?"

"_Miss Romanoff and Mr. Barton are sparring in the gym. Mr. Odinson is on his floor as well as Dr. Banner. Captain Rogers is in the War Room._"

"Wait, why is Steve in the War Room?"

"_He's figuring out where he needs to go to find some of the future S.H.I.E.L.D. recruits._"

"Working, as always. How about we go and call them in, so that we can all talk?"

Tony began to make his way over to the touchscreen on the wall when Lucy stopped him.

"No. I think…I need to go speak to Agent May."

"Back to the saddle already?"

"I'm afraid I'm a little rusty, but yes."

"Alright. I'll be in the lab or here or whatnot if you need me." Tony says with a warm smile. He knew that Lucy would be confused in his change of demeanor, but he very well knew what the importance of caring for someone while they were alive was after what had happened to her.

"Thanks, Tony. I'll be back before dinner."

"Today's team bonding day, you know."

"I know." Lucy chuckles, waving before phasing out of the window.

Lucy walked into the main building and got patted down before she was waved off by an agent she knew very well.

"Agent Lindsey. It's nice to see that you're not one of them. Can I ask you for a favor?"

"Of course, Agent Fatale. What's up?"

"I need a badge. An I.D."

"Did you not receive one?"

"Fury never gave me one while he was alive and I just arrived yesterday."

"Well you should've said something! Come on, I'll have Agent Sooter make you one."

Agent Sooter was a tall man with a calm demeanor that made Lucy laugh and took multiple pictures until both she and he was satisfied. They filled in all of the necessary information before printing it out and hooking it to a lanyard. He placed it around her neck and smiled.

"Welcome back, Agent Fatale. Or do you prefer Agent Moon?"

"Either one is fine with me, Agent Sooter. Thank you for the help."

"It was my pleasure."

Lucy smiled and left the room back into the lobby before hitting the button to the elevator. She stepped in and the intercom spoke.

"_Lucille Moon."_

"Alpha X-Ray, 3672190261407." Lucy rambles, nodding her head the the words as she said them.

"_Confirmed."_

The elevator began to descend down and she smiled, waiting for the crisp bell of the arrival. When the intercom announced her floor, she let herself off and walked through the doors after scanning her new badge.

Following her sense of hearing, Lucy made her way into what seemed like the main conference room. All turned their heads to look and in an instant, everyone was on their defense with guns pointed at the Avenger.

"No need to be so tense. You should enjoy the new space. Relax for a little while." Lucy chuckles, crossing her arms and letting the weapons in their hands drop to the floor with the movement of her hands. They looked more startled than Lucy was comfortable with so she smiled to relieve the tension. It didn't work.

"It's nice to see that you're somewhat well, Agent Coulson." She says, nodding.

"Colonel Moon?" Phil asks, a tone softer than she had expected. He looked seemingly afraid.

Lucy laughed softly and nodded. "I prefer a different name now, but yes."

"How are you down here?"

"I'm somewhat alright with computers. It's a heck of a code to remember though."

"How… are you… ?"

"Why don't you finish your meeting and then we can talk?"

"Ah. Right."

"...I'm sorry to be ignorant, but who are you?" Skye suddenly asks, as they wander into a spare briefing room.

"I'm Colonel Lucille Moon. Agent Lucille Moon. The Femme Fatale. Agent Fatale. Whatever you wanna call me is fine. Just don't call me Femme."

"It's nice to meet you, Agent Fatale. What do you specialize in?" Agent Triplett asks, reaching over to shake her hand.

"Field operatives, mostly."

"Not quite, Triplett," Phil says, walking in, "she's an Avenger."

"Just like you, Coulson." Lucy smiles, letting herself float up onto the table and sit.

The agents backed up a bit and she chuckled.

"You're not supposed to be down here for another day, Colonel Moon. I didn't expect you to show up so suddenly. An Avenger standing with us in a restricted zone. A highly restricted zone."

"Does this mean I'm in trouble?"

"This means I'm highly suspicious of you for being 1., an Avenger, and 2., in this facility."

"Does this mean you'll send me in for immediate disciplinary action?"

"Nah. We'll just chit chat."

"Let's chat then, shall we?"

Phil sat down in a chair before her and glanced at his agents. They immediately began to make their way to the door when Lucy raised a hand. "Maybe they should stay. They look like good kids."

"Kids?" Triplett asks incredulously, glancing over at Fitz who shrugged.

"Have you guys taken a look at my very limited file?" Lucy asks, turning her head to look at the monitor at the front of the room.

"I've taken a brief look at it because you were on the list of agents that needed to be sorted." Coulson murmurs but the rest were unsure of who she was.

She shrugged. "You'll find out one day."

"How do you know me?" Phil asks.

"Who doesn't know you besides the obvious Avengers team? Everyone knows you. We just keep our traps shut."

"Not the answer I was looking for, but fair enough."

"I've known about you since the day of the Battle of New York."

"How?"

"Because I can do this," She says, before phasing into the air.

"Oh hell." Coulson murmurs.

She phased back to sit across from Coulson and he jumped once more. "I apologize."

"You can… vanish?"

"I can _phase. _Turn into molecules, manipulate molecules, fun stuff."

"That's too cool." Skye comments.

"Thanks."

"Why are you here, Colonel Moon?"

"Because you still call me that. I'm not Colonel Moon anymore, Coulson. I'm here to help."

"We need to find many agents who were out on missions when this war came down on us."

Lucy smiled. "Give me something to work with, Phil."

"Agent Ariadne Pierre and Agent Kinsley Snider. Their codenames: Cipher and Nexus respectively. They were on a mission out in Phoenix tracking some leads on an A.I.M. weapon being black marketed. We've lost contact with them."

"Ariadne…Kinsley. Why are they so familiar? Stark mentioned Ariadne to me." Lucy says, furrowing her brows.

"Maybe you've heard of them over in the communications center. We value them highly; they're special."

"Special?"

"They have powers."

"Powers? Are they mutants?"

"No. They have an unique history with some experimentation."

Lucy cringed in hearing his words and shook her head. "That's really too bad. I'll get the team ready. Could Agent May get us set up for the mission?"

"Of course." May murmurs, unfolding her arms and walking out the door to presumably get the files together.

"Colonel-Agent Moon, could you…keep this-"

"You don't have anything to worry about, Phil. It's okay."

"Can I trust you, Agent Moon?"

Lucy smiled and took his hand before sighing. "I can become the one person you can trust your life with. I'll see you when this all blows over, Agent."

She turned her attention away from Coulson and looked upon his team. "Be cautious and be wary."

"You will be on the airplane by 0800 tomorrow morning. The last reported location of them is Phoenix, Arizona. They may not be in Phoenix, and that is your decision to make: whether or not you want to take that chance and hope that they're not too far off.

"They were after some people who were trying to black market an A.I.M. weapon, as I've mentioned before so that is an edge that only you have." Agent May explains as she swipes through the file to be displayed on the big screen.

"Do we have everything set up? It's not exactly an infiltration, but the…implantation plan and extraction. Is there a plan set up?"

"Of course."

"We have no other options, from the looks of it. As long as this gives us the best opportunity to recruit more agents."

Everyone hummed an agreement and Agent May smiled. She handed the file to the Captain and he took out the passports and tickets, all coach in Southwest Airlines.

Tony suppressed a moan of misery when he saw the ticket marked as "COACH" and sank back into his seat before looking around at everyone.

"Looks like…fun."

"Undercover. Haven't done that in a while." Lucy murmurs, flipping the ticket over to check it out.


	14. Chapter 13-5: Floor Plan

**Avengers Tower**

Levels 1-25: South Building

Levels 26-53: North Building

Levels 54-55: Bruce and Tony's exclusive lab

Level 56: Avengers exclusive gym

Level 57: Tony's living space

Level 58: Bruce's living space

Level 59: Natasha's living space

Level 60: Clint's living space

Level 61; Lucy's living space

Level 62: Steve's living space

Level 63: Thor's living space

Level 64: Communal Floor

Level 65: Exclusive Guest Suites

Level 66: Molecular Analysis

Level 67-76: Research and Development

Level 77: War Room


	15. Chapter 14: A Night In

**May 9, 2014**

It was just the seven of them that night. Pepper was busy dealing with Stark Industries stocks in the South Building of the Tower which was simply just the first 26 levels. Rhodey and Sam? Well, they never visited unless it was a special occasion and tonight, although special to the Avengers, was just another Friday night.

The seven of them spent the evening after the briefing bumping hips in the kitchen as they prepared their first dinner together in more than a month. It was the first time in a long time that they had genuinely smiled together.

"Should I have made plans for a bigger kitchen?"

"It's cozy, Tony. It's nice." Steve says and Lucy nodded.

Natasha made klotski and Clint made a pasta that tasted something like a blend of a cream sauce and Ragu tomato sauce. Steve was the real chef in the house as he made a baked chicken wrapped in a thick slice of bacon and pesto and Bruce covered the dessert with a blueberry pound cake. Tony managed to cook half of a dozen eggs, all sunny-side up and stirred the frozen corn that was in a pot on the stovetop while Lucy prepared German potato salad and coleslaw. Thor "tossed" a salad and landed most of the tossed variety onto the counter.

It would be the first time that they had brought to the table something of their own.

"Come sit down, Bruce. It won't burn."

Once everyone was seated at the dining table, Steve at the head and no one at the end, they passed around each dish and placed food onto their plates. They dug in as soon as everyone had their share and startled themselves at how flavorful everything was.

"I definitely missed this the most." Bruce sighs with a smile.

"I agree. Though this is our first time cooking for each other, the…company I appreciate." Natasha adds quietly.

Lucy nodded and took a sip of her water before pausing._ Is this, home?_

Too busy scarfing down their dinner, no one noticed the blank look that Lucy was sporting and she snapped out of it before anyone could comment upon it.

"I think our next project needs to be working on bettering our ways of regaining energy. Those protein bars are terrible."

"And the new fabric."

"We have protein bars?"

"We introduced them to you in the lab back when you were first training, Lu."

"You might have but I do not recall any of that."

"Nor do I." Thor says.

"Well we have these cardboard bars that they give to us specifically."

"It's basically a slow energy release bar. You can survive off of one a day. It's not the best tasting thing. It's odor-free so it serves us very well."

"Aside from its cardboard-like resemblance." Tony adds.

"So if I had to eat just those on a mission and I left for three days, I would have to eat four of those each day?"

"No. You would have to eat five of those each day. You are never going to skip a meal ever again."

"I don't eat during missions so this is a start. Fifteen of those?" Lucy clarifies.

"Gross." Clint mumbles, shaking his head.

Lucy nodded as she looked back down at her food. She looked up as if she were startled by a realization. "Fabric. I remembered that. Bruce, you mentioned fabric."

"We'll have to discuss it further, and if you have any modifications you would like to suggest, we would be open to any and all."

"So many things to do."

"So little time."

Lucy quirked an eyebrow and refrained from saying anything against Clint's comment.

"Have you guys ever realized...that we're going to have to retire one day?"

"What brought that thought on?"

"We're going to have successors, and they'll replace us. And then we'll have something else to do."

"Like, dying. But you won't have that worry, Lucy. Cap."

Lucy stopped chewing and looked up at Clint. His eyebrows raised at the intensity of her stare. She shook it off and continued to eat silently.

"What should we expect from tomorrow? Cipher and Nexus...what's with the names?"

"Cipher is a gifted manipulator. She works exclusively with technopathic abilities. As far as I can remember she's a phaser like me but I could be wrong. She's… somewhat untrusting and a little cold.

"Nexus is the connection between things, so she's telekinetic and telepathic. She's also a gifted manipulator and she's incredible at torture and submission. She's a schizophrenic and an adapter...so we could very well see the other person."

"The other person?"

"She's schizophrenic, so taking into consideration of that, she has an alter ego/personality. Cruelly vicious."

"...and you got all of this from the files?"

Lucy shook her head no in uncertainty and blinked. "I did not look at those files."

"There's no way you could have known otherwise."

She let the silence linger after Natasha's words. "I think used to know a technopath and a schizophrenic."

Steve stared at her intently and she looked over at him. "Did you know anyone of the sort? Maybe from the 40s?"

He shook his head no.

Lucy bit her lip and stared down at her food with furrowed brows.

"Let's just hope that they're...still wherever they are, yeah?"

"Sure, um, yeah." Lucy says, shaking away the confusion.

The team continued to eat, though now fairly silently. The dishes were not hand washed because it was bonding night and instead placed into the dishwasher one by one. With the machine humming quietly in the background, the seven of them gathered around in the living room.

"What do we want to watch tonight?" Tony asks, gesturing to the TV with a small glass of bourbon in his hand.

"The Breakfast Club."

"I haven't seen that one."

"Neither have I." Lucy says.

"You've had more time out of the ice than Cap has, Lu."

"The time I spent out was spent either with HYDRA or fighting alone. I wasn't into modern-day culturing myself." She argues, brandishing her glass of wine at him.

"Excuses, excuses."

The first few minutes of the film created a quiet and serene aura around the team before Lucy spoke to Steve.

"Steve, how did you manage to go on a date with Agent 13 during this S.H.I.E.L.D against HYDRA ordeal?"

"It wasn't much of a date, but more that we got dinner together."

"I thought you were getting lunch with your other colleagues, Steve." Natasha says.

"She is a colleague." Steve insists with a smile.

_You're a terrible liar, _Lucy thought to herself.

"She's sweet." Natasha says, seemingly leaving her two cents and turning her head back to watch the movie.

"Hey, Steve?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you mind taking me to see Peggy sometime, maybe after this mission?"

"Why?"

"I've just heard so much about her that I wanted to meet her in person. I would have liked to meet a lot of people." Lucy adds quietly.

"Okay," Steve says after a moment of silence, "I'll take you to see her after we get back."


	16. Chapter 15: Phoenix

**May 10, 2014: 0730**

The seven of them walked into the airport in civilian clothing and became somewhat bewildered at the sight of so many people. Saturdays were the worst time to fly and yet, they happened to be leaving not too far from now.

Each had some form of luggage to carry, but no special equipment was needed for this mission. Although they looked like themselves, the undercover operation motive made them look and seem like civilians.

A call for their flight was sent over the intercom and they merged over to wait for zone 4 to be called.

"Have you ever flown in a plane before, Lucille?" Tony asks.

"I wasn't always able to fly long distances. Back in the...day, I flew to...Germany on plane." She replies, speaking slowly to figure out what she wanted to say.

"Germany." Steve says blankly, nodding his head.

"_Zone 3, boarding."_

Clint checked over his backpack and grinned.

They each handed their boarding passes to the attendant and she scanned them before they walked the bridge into the plane. The seats were in pairs of two so they sat as followed: Thor, then behind them, Tony and Bruce, Clint and Natasha, and lastly, Steve and Lucy.

"Lucy, how did you manage to get through security without knowing that you're on the list of FBI's Most Wanted?" Steve whispers into her ear.

"Cou-I think Fury cleared my name. Probably with a lot of persuading and I'll probably end up seeing the Secretary of Defense sometime though." She replies quietly.

Steve nods knowingly and glances up to see the flight attendants coming by to check the overhead compartments.

"Have you ever been to Arizona?"

"I'm not that familiar with the area. Are you?"

Steve shook his head no and sunk back into his seat. Lucy covered up her yawn and stared at the seat in front of her while Nat and Clint chit chatted. Steve and her didn't have much to discuss just yet. There was still uncertainty between them. So they ignored the tension between them and relaxed. The plane took off and they complimentary beverages and peanuts were passed along. The entire flight soon became quiet from the exhaustion that came along with flying and Lucy struggled to keep her focus on the mission file written in codes for secrecy.

Steve reached over and shut the file before her as her eyes shut and allowed her head to rest against his shoulder. When he too fell asleep, his head rested against hers.

What woke them up wasn't the team or the attendants but the sound of the plane landing and the pilot declaring their arrival at Phoenix Sky Harbor. Steve raised his head and Lucy followed suit before yawning and grabbing the mission file. Any bystander looking on would have believed anything but the fact that they were on a mission to rescue stranded secret agents.

"Did you guys sleep well?" Natasha asks, looking between her seat and Clint's seat to smile at them.

"Seems like you and Clint did too, Nat." Lucy mumbles.

She turned around with a snort and it took another ten minutes before they were able to leave the plane. It was another twenty minutes before they were able to find their way out and into an airport shuttle. They were taken to the Hilton hotel and they had to wait for another three hours before check in. Clint and Tony had convinced the others that they would go pick up some food from the nearby Subway and left at the two-hour mark.

By the time the sandwiches were eaten and they got gotten into their room, it hardly felt like a mission at all but rather a very screwed up vacation.

"Okay. It's noon now, and we're already exhausted from waiting."

"We need to call Agent May and we need to find a signal on their trackers. Hoping that they still work, that is."

And that's exactly what they did. While Natasha called May, Tony and Bruce began to search for a signal on the agents' trackers.

"And now it's a waiting game." Bruce declares.

Steve let out a deep sigh and crossed his arms.

"Will you hand me the mission file?"

Lucy reached over and grabbed the beige file stamped with a large, bolded red lettering of "CLASSIFIED".

"Thank you. Ariadne Pierre...technopath, extreme interrogator, manipulation."

"Please tell me that it's not molecular manipulation." Clint says, glancing over at Lucy. She shook her head no as Steve replied.

"It doesn't specify anything."

"It's circuitry, electricity manipulation. Technology manipulation, as in, a technopath."

"Kinsley Snyder...telekinetic, adapter..."

"As in, she can do the whole Mystique thing?"

"Yes, but she's not blue." Steve replies, narrowing his eyes at the bottom of the page.

"Immortality Project Trial #1: Immortality taken hold, phasing evolved in subject A. Telekinesis taken hold in subject B. Adaptation subject B. Extreme trauma."

Lucy's eyes widened into the size of saucers and she gasped.

"_No..._" She whispers, shaking her head out of what seemed like skepticism and disbelief. The one word was followed by a dozen more as she made grabbing motions for the file in Steve's hands. He handed it to her with a bit of uncertainty and watched as her eyes stared at the bottom of the page.

"_That can't be possible._"

"What's going on, Fatale?" Steve asks, a certain steel in his voice.

"Th-the Immortality Project. I-I should have never taken it. _Who took it?_" She suddenly demands, and her voice rings through the room and makes the floor reverberate.

"Fatale, calm down." Natasha says, letting her hand wander back towards the pen on the table behind her.

Bruce looked indefinitely startled, a bit fearful even. Thor was sporting a look of pure shock on his face, but had no sign of worry. Maybe it was because he had put his whole trust in her, but it may have been because he knew he calm her. Or at least knock her unconscious if needed.

Soon in her fingers was a cigar and she stared at it.

"That's _not _what I needed."

Instead of throwing it out, she set it down as if she was to come back to it later.

"_Those girls had their lives ruined because I took that goddamn thing. I should have never taken it. Who found it?!" _Lucy bellows, and the walls start to quiver.

"What are you talking about, Fatale?" Steve demands.

"That was a government project that began right after you got subjected to the Serum, Rogers. Th-that's how I acquired my partner-he was the one and only test subject. I-I took it when I was released so no one would ever be subject to that ever again and I-I never thought-" Lucy explains, her voice faltering at the end as the floor and walls settled.

"I ruined their lives."

"That project sounds a lot like the Infinity Formula." Steve says.

"The Immortality Project was merely based off of the Formula. We had multiple scientists working on it, and not everyone wanted to go in the direction everyone else was going."

"And you...were the scientist." Tony concludes. Lucy grit her teeth and looked away.

"It worked. It worked, not like the Formula. The Formula had to be re-administered every year. The Project didn't, but it had side effects. Too many of them. One too many." Lucy whispers the last part and everyone strains to hear her.

"And Tim. He had side effects?"

The sound of her ex-partner's name seemed to bring her to attention. She sat up straighter and tensed.

"The serum worked on him, but he had the strength of the Hulk. He didn't know where he stopped."

"He had no self-control?"

"He had the most self control a human could have. He hated..." Lucy drifted away from her sentence. "He hated loving me because he never wanted to hurt me or anyone. But he did. He hurt them more than he wanted to."

She pursed her lips and paused a moment. "The rats that we tested on grew deformities, mutations. Some died. I don't know how many people they tested it on after him, and after I was...detained, so to speak."

Natasha looked mildly uncomfortable at her thought process of the possibly experimented. Lucy clicked her tongue against her teeth and soon looked more together. "I ruined their lives and now it's our job to try and get them to come with us."

The computer on the bed made a form of alerting noise and everyone snapped out of their respective depressive thoughts to look at the monitor.

"We've got a ping for an abandoned apartment complex in Downtown Phoenix. They've been stationary for the past twelve hours." Tony says as his fingers click against the keyboard and Bruce looks over his shoulders.

"Let's suit up."

Natasha laughed incredulously.

* * *

"Who pays $103 for a taxi?" Clint asks, grimacing as he watched the green hybrid drive away.

"We do, because it's undercover. Where's Lucy?" Natasha questions.

"_Here._" She sighs as her molecules float around them. _"Will someone take me into an alley?"_

"That might give off the wrong idea if any one sees us." Steve says, glancing around carefully with his hands shoved into his sweatshirt.

"_We're going into that Target. Nat can take me into the dressing rooms and I can get back together." _Lucy decides, seemingly weaving between them as Natasha's hair swayed.

"Target." Tony states blankly.

Lucy nearly growled around his ears and he immediately obliged. So they walked into the department store and they slowly walked around before Natasha walked into the fitting room so Lucy could compact again.

"Hi, daddy." Lucy says, hooking her arm through Tony's. He looked inconceivably angry, but after multiple people glanced over at them with interest, followed by immediate disinterest, he played along.

"Hey L...aura."

"Can we go home now? I'm starving." She says cheerfully and felt Steve's presence next to her. Lucy's hand moved from its position on Tony's arm and laced her fingers between Steve's. They curled around his and slowly, but surely, his tightened around hers. Against Lucy's naturally cold fingers, Steve's were warm and comforting all the while perfectly fitted to hers.

Lucy could hear Nat chuckle lowly, but she didn't care-she was here to finish this mission.

By the time they made it out of the superstore, Bruce was Lucy's shy uncle, and Natasha was Steve's sister who was dating Clint while Thor was Steve's brother. They ventured down towards where the abandoned apartment should be. Natasha murmured directions from her Starkphone and the team complied. Soon they stood in front of a small apartment complex with brown, dusty dead grass decorating the front lawn. The paint was chipped sporadically and it was probably a place forgotten or overlooked by most.

"Let me go in first." Lucy whispers as she takes a step forward.

"No, don't, Laura. Let Natalie go in. She's better at being quiet than you." Steve says, gripping her hand tighter. He caught her eye and they exchanged a knowing look.

"Maybe it is a better idea."

Natasha and Clint ventured in while the rest of the team sat in various places to the park adjacent to the apartment complex. Lucy was restless and stood up from her seat on the swing set to phase and join Clint and Natasha.

They were just on the second floor when Lucy heard the two stranded agents on the fourth floor. The two assassins knocked on the door, not knowing what to expect when a rather small girl with blonde hair tied back into a ponytail answered the door. Lucy could see the gun tucked behind her and waited for their move.

"Hi there. Are you the people from the bank?" The agents asks.

"No. We're not. We're your extraction team." Natasha says calmly.

The agent whipped out her gun and held it out defensively to contemplate the thought for a bit before another girl stepped into the scene.

"Who are they, Ariadne?"

"They claim to be our extraction team. How do we trust them?"

"We don't. We don't trust anybody."

"We're from S.H.I.E.L.D. You can trust us."

"Where's the rest of your team? How can we be sure that you're not using face replacement technology?" Ariadne demands while the other places a hand on her shoulder. The other's hand was on a gun hooked into a belt.

"I think it could be alright to trust them."

"You can't be so sure, Kinsley. You can't trust anybody."

Lucy heard the vague sound of the rest of her team approaching and it seemed like the two agents did as well. The lights began to flicker and every electronic began to go haywire. The earpieces emitted a high frequency into their ears and the team immediately yanked them out. When Lucy wasn't so sure she could handle the sound anymore, she watched Steve and the others appear behind Clint and Natasha before compacting back into herself to take out the earpiece.

She observed carefully as the countenances of the two agents grew horrified. Agent Pierre dropped her gun out of unadulterated shock and Agent Snyder looked absolutely terrified.

"L-Lucy-?" Agent Pierre questions.

"Hello, Agent Pierre. Agent Snyder. No need to look so frightened. We're just your extraction team."

"Y-You..." Agent Snyder stammers, shaking her head before stopping.

"Agent Pierre, Agent Snyder. Would you allow us to take you back to The Core? Agent Melinda May requests your presence." Steve says.

It took not much more than that before they were convinced and packed up their things. Not much was brought, but their belongings were in their hands as they left the building.

Words were not exchanged between the team and the agents, but facades were kept so Lucy's hand was in Steve's, Natasha's in Clint's, Bruce, Tony, and Thor's in their own respective pockets. The group silently walked along the sidewalk back before taking a ride on the Light Rail all the way down to the airport. Two taxis were hailed and they arrived back at the hotel by the time it was late afternoon.

"Here is your room key. You'll be just down the hall from us. Sorry we didn't manage to get a room closer to us though." Lucy says, handing Agent Snyder a small card.

"Thank you. For this and for...you know." She says and cringed.

"You're welcome. We'll come by with your boarding passes later on, but don't leave the hotel premises. We'll take a shuttle down to the airport."

"Yes, ma'am."

The Avengers were already in the room when Lucy turned in the other direction to head into her room. She quickly turned around when she realized she had one more thing to say.

"Agent Pierre."

The agent turned around with question marks in her eyes and raised her eyebrows.

"Yes, Agent Moon?"

"Do...do I know you guys from somewhere?"

"Not that I recall," Agent Pierre replies without skipping a beat, "is there a problem?"

"Not at all. I just...I feel like I know you both too well. From before, or something." She decided not to bring up the Immortality Project and sighed.

"Maybe you've just seen us around, Agent Moon. Good night."

"Good night." Lucy murmurs, turning around and walking away.

Her fingers fumbled for the card in her pocket and she jammed the plastic into the slot before yanking it out and opening the door to shut it behind her.

"I know them from somewhere, I know I do." She rambles, throwing her key onto the table where everyone else's keys were. She looked up and saw the adjoined portion of the room and Thor and Bruce looking up at her with interest.

"Please tell me no one left the hotel premises."

"We're all here."

"Avengers..."

Numbers were called from each corner of the adjoined room from one through seven, who was Lucy.

"Seven," Lucy whispers to herself, "good."

"Did you manage to pull anything out of the two about the mission?" Bruce asks. Lucy shook her head no.

"I just gave them instructions for tomorrow. I highly doubt that they would have even told me what the mission name was if I asked."

"I think you have their trust, Lucille." Thor says.

Lucy sat down in the chair adjacent to them. "Why do you say that?"

"As soon as you appeared, they immediately agreed to come with us. They must trust you."

"Or they're scared of me." Lucy says with a smile.

"That's a possibility." Tony says as he walks in from the North Room eating a S.H.I.E.L.D.-grade protein bar.

Lucy rolled her eyes and turned her head to see an incoming protein bar package thrown her way. It vanished, and when she realized what it was, she let it reappear on her lap.

"We all need to eat." Steve explains, tossing one at Thor and handing another to Bruce as he walks in.

Lucy fiddled with the packaging before she set it down and the wrapper disappeared. She picked it up and observed it before she took a bite out of it and began to chew.

"I mean, it's bad, but it's not _that_ bad."

"And that's where you're wrong. It's terrible." Tony interjects, his mouth full.

"We'll figure something out after we get back."

"Maybe not." Natasha says, walking in with Clint trailing behind her and a phone in her hand.

"'Maybe not'?"

"Agent May managed to call me. They're in Los Angeles. Agent Ward has turned."

"He just recently turned?"

"No. Agent Garrett and Ward have been with the other side since the beginning of everything."

The hotel room began to slowly quake and Lucy shut her eyes as the reverberations halted soon after.

"Now what?"

"Now we wait."


	17. Chapter 16: Agent

**May 16, 2014**

"Anything?" Lucy asks as she comes into the hotel room.

"Nope."

"Maybe I should check out what's going on over there." She says, letting her hair fall from her ponytail.

"We can't risk it." Steve replies, peering over at her from the computer.

"This is worrying."

"They'll get back to us."

"Where is Nick?" Tony wonders aloud.

"Six feet under." Lucy mumbles.

"Where is he really?"

"Dead." Steve states simply.

Tony let out a deep breath and glanced over at Natasha and Clint who was staring at a Starktablet. They seemed cozy.

_The people I've trusted, the people I knew. Who were they really? What are they now? What did they believe in?_

"Have you checked in on Agent Pierre and Snyder?"

"We haven't since breakfast. They've been out and about."

_Why am I so protective of them?_

"Okay… okay." Lucy sighs, coming around the bend to sit down in the armchair next to Thor.

"Fatal maiden. Would you tell us a story from your days as a warrior?"

"A warrior? Hmm..."

_He always asks for stories. _She thought it was sweet of him to be so curious.

"How about the story of your beau." Tony suggests, seemingly so bored out of his mind that all of the consideration in his question disappeared. He seemed to feel guilty for asking it once he caught sight of her vacant stare.

"We mean not to invade upon your privacy, Lucille." Thor adds quickly.

"No, it's alright." Lucy whispers, swallowing thickly. _Why can't I let go?_

"How about a story about training-"

"Okay."

"Okay? You're going to tell us a story about training?"

"I'll tell you about Timothy." Lucy says, crossing her ankles and letting out a long sigh.

"He was...the apple of my eye. He was my handler because he was the one with the gentle personality. He was my partner."

She paused, then inhaled and exhaled.

"I'm starting to forget."

Lucy looked as though she was in deep thought before she continued.

"He was my Immortality Project test subject. He was...19 at the time and ready to serve his country. So I let him. And I ruined his life.

"He had incredible strength that he didn't know how to control. Instead of having uncontrollable emotions with his strength, he had immense emotional stability. We clicked immediately. A higher-up of mine put us together and we flew to Nazi Germany."

A long period of silence followed her last word.

"When I got too close to them, the other men, and couldn't get out of the situation, he came in and took care of the rest. When I was too tired to finish the job, he did it for me. He never let me go anywhere without him. The closer we got, the more dangerous we became. When the war was coming to a close and Steve was gone by this time, I was drugged heavily and put into a box. By this point I had no idea how to keep myself as a whole person when I was unconscious. So they shoved me into a box and we were separated. He got back to the States and so did I. I remember the day he was wiped."

Lucy could remember the screams like it happened just moments ago. They were the focal points of her nightmares. _I loved him._

"I listened. And I couldn't do anything. I listened to his love for me be burned away by my colleagues and I listened to my heart shatter into a thousand pieces. He never forgot me though. With every volt that was sent through him, he still remembered. I could hear him in front of the fridge every now and then.

"In 1998, he decided to pick up the box. I woke up. 1999, it opened. I flew away. He knew. He took the mission down by the docks of where we used to sit and watch the sunsets. A marines operation. HYDRA. And that was it.

"I watched him be placed onto the gurney, I watched the white sheet pulled over his face and then I watched him be sent to the..the cre-cre...crematorium.

"And I watched his little box go down into the hole they made for him up in the hilly cemetery."

Though the story could have been dubbed vague, it was crystal clear to the team. More obvious than the tears that were threatening to fall onto her cheeks. More painful than death itself.

The shrill sound of the phone ringing snapped her out of her daze and Lucy looked over at Natasha. "You should get that."

The master assassin couldn't say anything but merely nod and answer the call.

"We can come home."

"Home." Lucy whispers.

The flight home was silent amongst the group of S.H.I.E.L.D. affiliates. Facades were out back on, and everyone acted as if they were exhausted from the "vacation" they had. Lucy never lost the vacant stare from her eyes and no one was tired from the mission. Just emotionally taxed.

When they landed, it was nearly midnight. Midnight, but the city was still booming with Friday-night party goers. They took one of Tony's limousines and managed to get into the perimeters of the campus before a patrol agent on surveillance stopped them. From that point, the team members managed to drop their belongings off in the Avengers lobby before heading into the main building to get debriefed.

Agent Cipher and Agent Nexus was escorted away from the team soon after they stepped into the main building. The seven of them stepped onto the elevator as the intercom declared their names, one by one.

"_Confirmed._"

The elevator began to descend and Bruce yawned from exhaustion.

"Who in their right mind would be willing to be at work at this hour?" Clint wonders.

"We're gonna find out," Natasha says, as the elevator dings, "right now."

The seven stepped off of the elevator and walked into the new level where they were "greeted" by Agent May. She glanced over them before nodding and leading the way into suite #9.

The chair at the head of the table was turned so that they could only see the back and there were seven other chairs available. Subsequently, after seeing the available seating, the members sat down with Steve at the other end of the table.

"Mission completed," Steve states, placing his hands on the table and lacing his fingers together.

"Congratulations." May murmurs.

"Where the hell is Fury?" Lucy whispers.

"Actually, it's Coulson-Director Coulson to you now."

The chair at the head of the table spun around and there sat Agent Phillip Coulson.

He smiled.


	18. Chapter 17: A Box?

"Stupid, stupid, stupid. And _very _stupid! How could you keep this from us?!"

"Take a deep breath, Tony. I merely wanted the unification of the Avengers to become stronger."

"_So you died?_!"

"It was the only way."

It was no use arguing with Coulson, but over the anger and frustration came the relief that he was even alive. The emotion triumphed and the argument was dropped.

Well, maybe not.

"You _died. You left us...!_" Clint growls as his hand clenches into a tight fist of white knuckles and anger.

"I trusted the system, Clint. I trusted Fury."

"Yet you didn't trust us enough to let us in on the biggest secret that S.H.I.E.L.D. held from us?"

"I trusted you and that's why I held it from you. I trusted you to pull it off and you did. My team needed me."

"We needed you." Tony spits.

"I know."

"I needed you." Clint says in a tone so flat and grave that Natasha was somewhat surprised to hear it.

"My team needed me more."

"_How could you?_"

"It wasn't easy."

"What have you done since you died?" Thor asks. He looked as though he had seen a man crawl out of his own grave, yet relieved to see that Coulson was even alive.

"I've been resurrected. I continued to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. I trusted the system."

"Did you even know that we added a new agent?"

"Of course. She visited me before your mission."

Clint's jaw tightened as he peered over at Lucy with a look that could murder.

"It was not my secret to tell." She states.

"I have spent nights looking through your file. Or rather, trying to pull more information out of the very minimal material in your file." Director Coulson says as he turns his attention to the newer agent.

Lucy pursed her lips and shrugged. "I'm still a runaway."

"Colonel Moon," Director Coulson murmurs, "where have you been for the past seventy...eighty years?"

Lucy paused. "In a glass box. Nearly dead, once a part of HYDRA, and now here. I think I was deemed dead in absentia after Operation Fatale was put on hold. Or vice versa."

Director Coulson tilted his head to the side and raised an eyebrow.

Lucy smiled blankly. "I've had a lot of time outside of the box to think. And I still care. That's why I didn't tell them your secret."

He parted his lips as if he wished to say something but shut them.

Director Coulson then nodded thoughtfully and looked down at his fingers. He began to speak with some sort of shame or hesitation. "Colonel Moon, you told us, the only thing you've told us about your time after World War II was that you were put in a box. A glass box, to be specific."

Lucy smiled sadly and waited for him to finish.

"From what we've seen, from what you've proven, you can phase through anything but extremely dense metals. You can manipulate all but extremely dense metals. Vibranium, adamantium, alloys of those sorts." He looked at Lucy. "You said you were kept in a glass box. You could have phased through glass."

The atmosphere turned tense as everyone waited for her to answer.

"It... was not glass. I was in a compact room. A room plated with adamantium all around. It was...dark and I couldn't see anything. It wasn't glass, like I told you. I wasn't tortured by the scenery of people and life. Instead, I was tortured by the sounds of life.

"It was cold. Oh, _it was cold._" Lucy says. She took in a long breath as her gaze on the table wavered. The stream of air that was exhaled skittered.

"They must have put me in a freezer. I was awake some of the time, when I put in the effort to listen, but when I didn't, it was too cold to try and live. I shut my eyes and let things happen, but I didn't die. I woke up sometimes. I pleaded for my life when I had the will to put my mouth back together but the pleas went unheard."

Lucy's eyes suddenly glazed over and her hand began to tremble.

"Colonel Moon."

Director Coulson cringed a bit before trying again. "Lucy. _Lucy._"

She flinched and looked up at Coulson. "And that's what really happened. A funbox in a freezer."

Director Coulson scanned over her carefully and exhaled. "You're dismissed."

Slowly, the team began to get to their feet and head over to the door. Together, they made their ways out and back out into the hallway. Once back inside the Avengers Tower lobby, Lucy phased up and into her level whilst the rest took the elevator. This was her way of saying that she had had enough for a while.

She dreamt of black.

* * *

"_But _how _could you?_" Natasha demands with tears brimming her eyes and Clint sitting next to her at the table.

"I couldn't. I had to, and I was forced to."

"By what, _Fury_? Right."

Phil could only give her an apology and watch her as she attempted to control her anger.

"Do you know how much we missed you? How much sleep we lost wondering if you died with regrets? If you died disappointed in us?"

"You couldn't even fathom how much we missed you." Clint mutters.

"I lost the only father I ever had."

"I did it because I love you guys. Same reason why I stay away from Oregon." Phil suddenly says, nearly shouting over the intercom that directed him to a different part of the building. He stood and looked over them. Phil began to walk towards the door and once he arrived, he turned around to look at them again.

"I missed you guys."

Natasha soon walked over with an angry expression and let the tears fall for once before enveloping her handler with a hug. "I missed you too."

When the hug was released, Clint was right behind them to hug Coulson and let out a deep breath of relief. "Sir."

"Barton."

"Welcome back."

"I missed you too."


	19. Chapter 18: Carters

**May 29, 2014**

"_Happy birthday, Miss Lucy._"

"What day is it, Jarvis?" Tony asks as he walks off of the elevator.

"_May 29-your birthday, sir. It is also Miss Lucy's birthday, sir. Tomorrow will be the day she was administered the first strain of Project: Rebirth. 99 years ago tomorrow._"

"Thank you, Jarvis," Lucy sighs, taking a large gulp. She turned in her seat to look at Tony. "Happy birthday, old man."

"99 years ago, hmm?" Natasha ponders, handing a plate of eggs to Clint as she made her way around to sit down. "And 44 years ago."

"That's older than me." Steve chuckles.

"Happy 'birthday', Lucy, Tony." Bruce says with a smile.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you very much." Lucy drawls with a cringe. Tony let out a laugh and shook his head.

"How about for your birthday…" Steve says as he places his mug into the sink, "I take you to go see Peggy?"

Lucy smiled and set down the mug slowly to glance upon him. "I would love that."

He returned the smile and nodded. "Eleven o'clock begins visiting hours."

"I will be ready by ten and I can fly us there."

"I can get one of my jets to fly you two out there," Tony offers, "I just need to make a phone call."

"Thank you Tony, but I'll just fly us out there. As long as you don't mind the ride, Steve." Lucy says with a mischievous smile as she peered over at the Captain. He smiled and shrugged.

"You guys better be back before sunset. We have some celebratin' to do."

* * *

The travel out to Washington was more breezy than expected, but they arrived with a ten-minute delay. They compacted back in an alley away from the traffic and Lucy straightened out her clothing while Steve regained his balance.

"I don't know how you manage to do this all the time." He admits, shaking his head.

"I've had lots of time to practice, my dear. Now, where do we go from here?"

The two took the metrorail to the stop closest to the retirement home and once they arrived, walked to the building. When they stood in front of the main entrance, Lucy hesitated in going inside.

"It'll be okay. She'll appreciate having you visit." Steve assures.

"I'm meeting one of the founding members of S.H.I.E.L.D." Lucy whispers.

"Is that nervousness I see?"

Lucy shook her head no and instead looked away for a moment before she had a bouquet of flowers in her hands.

"Let's go."

They walked into the building and Lucy took a glance around while Steve signed them in. He led her towards the stairs and handed her her sticker as they ascended. The room was the second to last at the end of the hall and Steve knocked twice.

"Come in." A small voice says.

Steve stepped in and Lucy followed suit. She smiled when she saw the room filled with sunlight and Agent Carter awake with a smile on her face.

"Steve," she greets, before turning her eyes to look at Lucy. "Hello there."

"Hello Agent Carter."

"You must be Lucille."

"I am. How are you today? I brought you some flowers." Lucy says as she sets them down on her nightstand.

"Oh how delightful. Thank you. You've come a long ways to come see a little old lady like me."

"I thought it would be best to pay my respects."

"Who are you, Lucille?"

"I'm subject #1 of Project: Rebirth."

Peggy shook her head no. "That was Steven."

"I was trial #1 back in 1915."

"1915..."

"Yes ma'am. I was The Femme Fatale."

"The Femme Fatale. Operation Fatale."

Lucy nodded and Peggy gave her a grin. The two sat and Peggy waited for them to become situated. She suddenly grew horrified.

"We put you in a fridge." Peggy gasps. Lucy offered no words and watched her expression.

"We thought you were a rogue mutant of some sort, a danger!"

"I am a danger, Ms. Carter."

"The Immortality Project. Mr. Daymo."

Lucy nodded and Peggy nearly began to weep.

"Oh I am so sorry, Lucille! I am-we had no-"

"Ms. Carter, it's alright. I'm not hurt or anything. None of it was your fault." Lucy assures, taking her hand and squeezing it gently.

"Oh, but it was!"

"It's all in the past, Ms. Carter. Let us switch to a different topic. How is the home treating you? They better not be serving you bad food."

Peggy gave something of a chuckle. Her expression was still laced with worry and she didn't move from the topic easily. "Lucille, please tell me that you are still with S.H.I.E.L.D." _What's left of it._

"Of course I am."

"And you are with the Avengers?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Ah, Steve?"

Steve's ears perked up and he raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, Peggy?"

"Would you mind leaving us for a moment? I want to talk to Lucille alone."

Steve gave a grin and a nod before standing and left the room as Lucy's eyes followed him.

"Lucille."

"Please call me Lucy."

"Lucy then. How is Steven treating you?"

Lucy tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows. "Pardon me?"

"Are you two not-"

"No, Ms. Carter. We're just teammates."

"You love him. I can tell by the way you look at him."

"I haven't spared him a glance since I stepped in here." Lucy replies.

"Oh, but you have. I had that look in my eyes before. Your little side glances do not go unnoticed by me."

"I'll never love him as much as you do. He has an interest in your niece-Sharon. Agent 13."

"You love him more than I do. You were given this chance, sweetheart. Take it."

"I don't want to interfere with him and Agent 13."

"You want to, but you won't. Don't lose him, Lucy. I've lost him more times than I want to remember. Don't lose him and let him love you."

Lucy merely nodded.

"Sharon is not good for him. I know. Promise me, Lucille."

"I…promise, Ms. Carter."

"It feels wrong for you to call me Ms. Carter, Lucy."

"I wouldn't be comfortable allowing myself to call you by your first name, Ms. Carter."

"I've lived an entire lifetime while you and Steve were under the ice, so to speak. I'm just apologetic that I was a part of your wasted time."

"You never need to feel sorry for that, Ms. Carter. I'm just very thankful for S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Let me tell Steve about what he's losing."

"I don't think I want to let him in."

Peggy chuckled and shook her head before motioning at the door. Lucy stood and opened the door to poke her head outside and look around.

"Steve?"

He was down at the other end of the hall near the staircase. His head jerked up from its position while he stared down at the carpeting.

"What did you two talk about?"

"I wanted her advice on what I should do about becoming comfortable with Agent Coulson." Lucy lies, letting the words flow smoothly out of her mouth.

"Steve, take her home and make her a nice dinner."

Lucy laughed shortly and gave Peggy a pleading look to stop.

"You two better visit again soon."

"No reason not to."

They bid each other goodbyes and slowly left the retirement home feeling relaxed and assured.

"What did she mean about making you dinner?"

"I guess I seemed tense. I'm not sure."

Steve frowned and they continued to walk into the alleyway before Lucy gripped his wrist and phased them home.

* * *

There was a small card folded on the countertop of the Communal Floor when Steve and Lucy returned to the Tower.

_Please join us for dinner at 7PM!_

_Invitation for Steven Rogers and Lucille Moon_

_Don't be late, Europa. Jarvis has already called you a limousine so be ready._

Steve glanced at Lucy and they both chuckled before parting to their respective living spaces to change into formal attire. When the two convened again, it was at the lobby of the Tower where a chauffeur was waiting for them.

"And so Tony calls you Europa after one of the moons of Jupiter?"

"Apparently so. At least it's not 'Capsicle'." Lucy jokes.

The two shared a laugh together as the limousine came to a halt. The chauffeur opened the door for them and watched them walk into the restaurant before returning to the vehicle.

The restaurant was empty aside from the five already seated at the reserved table. Tony waved at them as they came near and smiled as they sat down.

"What took you so long? I told you not to be late, Europa."

"It was windier than I expected so pardon me. Happy birthday, Tony." She explains before passing to him a wrapped box and a gift bag from Steve.

"Happy birthday, Lucy."

Presents circled around the table to her and him before Tony suggested ordering. The waiter came around to take their orders and brought over the restaurant's finest wine for the seven of them,

"Tell me, what was it like meeting Agent Carter?"

"Humbling, in a sense."

"What did you talk about with her?"

"A lot of S.H.I.E.L.D. matters-"

Lucy was cut off by the sharp tone of a cell phone ringing and observed as Steve scrambled to stop it. He glanced at the ID and looked up sheepishly. "I think I have to take this."

"As long as it's not Agent Hill interrupting our dinner to discuss work." Clint says.

Steve gave an apologetic smile before leaving the table and heading towards the bathrooms to take the call. The servers brought over bread and salad and Lucy began to move the vegetables around her plate before the conversation started up again.

"Now tell us what you really talked about with Agent Carter." Natasha tells Lucy as she sighs.

"Ms. Carter can read me like an open book. God, she read me like I was a child's storybook."

"In what sense?" Bruce asks as he raises his wine glass to take a sip.

"She discussed with me to a great extent the relationship between Captain Rogers, Agent 13, and I."

"...'Captain Rogers'?" Clint questions with a chuckle.

"Yes!" Lucy stopped immediately when she spotted the man in question nearing again and switched the topic.

"Who was that?" Natasha asks Steve.

"Sharon."

Lucy hid a small smile and reached for her glass of water when she caught Natasha's smirk and glared at her.

"What did she have to say?"

"We're having dinner tomorrow, that is, if we don't assemble."

Clint whooped along with Thor's rumbling laughter. "Captain America is finally getting some!"

Steve rolled his eyes and laughed along until they were interrupted by the servers and their dinner. It was nearly silent as the team ate and enjoyed their meals.

"So now what?"

"Pardon me?"

"Now what? Rebuilding, reconstructing, what? What's our point now?" Lucy asks.

"We fight for the freedom of the U.S."

"And we continue to purge HYDRA agents."

Lucy nodded mindlessly as she pierced her salmon with the fork, pursing her lips in the process.

Thor wondered whether or not to ask her what was wrong, but decided that it would be best to leave her be. After the rest of the Avengers learned of her days in incarceration, they had been careful not to upset her.

"I never thought I would give my loyalty to a government agency." She expresses.

"You're a part of the family, Europa, and you're here to stay."

Lucy gave a small grin and the rest of the dinner was spent in silence until the cake came along. A few sparklers sat on top of the cake as the team sang "Happy Birthday" to both Tony and Lucy. Claps followed the song and each blew out half of the candles.

"Everyday I get closer to your age, Moon." Tony sighs.

"Don't push it, Tin Man. It's my birthday."

"It's _my _birthday, too!"

"Shut up and open the presents, guys."

"You first, Tony."

"You're older! Age before beauty."

Lucy scoffed before taking a bit of frosting and smearing it onto his face. "Age before beauty, my ass. Open mine first."

Tony conceded and reached for the wrapped box before tearing it open carefully. Inside was a complex structure that he and Bruce recognized immediately.

"A rhombicosidodecahedron?"

"I wasn't sure what to get a billionaire, so I got creative and figured out how to make one. Took a little while to figure out how to make it nonconvex, but I'm pretty sure it's correct."

"What's it made of?" Tony asks, turning the structure to get a good look at all angles.

"A mix of titanium and quartz for the faces."

"And you managed to manipulate it?"

Lucy smiled in return and Tony blew her a kiss from across the table. "Thank you, Lucy. I actually love it."

Gifts varied from the structure to sketches from Steve. When it was Lucy's turn, the table was covered in wrapping paper and tissue paper.

Journals to frames to a watch from Tony. She picked up the last box and glanced at Steve with a smile. Her fingers tugged at the ribbon before opening it and letting out a sharp gasp.

"Steve, no."

"Do you like it?"

"Of course I do. You shouldn't have spent so much-"

"Let me put it on you." Steve offers.

His fingers grasped the chain carefully and brought it around her neck before clasping it, glancing up in the process to see Natasha giving him a smile. The necklace glittered even in the low light of the restaurant as the moon and star shimmered together. Lucy pressed a kiss to his cheek and shook her head as she tidied up the bags and paper.

"Annnd back to work tomorrow!" Clint exclaims, placing his card on the check along with Natasha's, Bruce's, and Steve's paired with Thor's bills.

"I wish you guys would have let me pay." Lucy mumbles, leaning back against her seat tiredly.

"We can't make the birthday guests pay."

"It is your 100th from your date of birth, Lucille. We would feel wronged if you were to pay for our supper." Thor says, waving a hand with a friendly smile.

"Thanks for celebrating with us." Lucy says, smiling at Tony before looking around at the rest of them.

* * *

A/N: Hi all! I wanted to celebrate this milestone with another chapter, so here it is! We surpassed a very large number of views and I couldn't be more grateful. Please continue to read and share!


	20. Chapter 19: Four

**May 30, 2014**

"_Happy birthday, Miss Lucy._"

"It's not my birthday, Jarvis," Lucy says as she cradles a cup of orange juice before letting out a yawn. "That was yesterday."

"_Happy anniversary, then. 100 years since Project: Rebirth trial one is something to celebrate._"

Lucy scoffed and shook her head no before taking a sip as she watched Bruce walk off of the elevator with Tony whilst discussing a matter only few could likely understand.

"Morning, Lucy." Bruce greets, smiling as he opened the cabinets for a mug.

"Will you two show me what you're doing with the Hulk's shorts?" She asks suddenly, having thought of it just as of recently.

"How about after breakfast?" Tony offers as he raises his mug in suggestion.

The manipulator smiled in agreement and looked back down at the Friday paper to skim over the headlines.

* * *

"How do they work?" Lucy asks, looking up from the microscope focused on the fabric. Tony smiled and Bruce turned around from what he was staring at.

"It's a work of…art, in my opinion. It's a unique blend of elements that provide us a fabric made up of a unique molecular structure that's bullet-proof, weather-proof and nearly wear-resistant, but has the stretch of lycra and spandex on steroids so there's no worry or fuss about how big Dr. Banner will become." Tony explains, stretching a small piece of the fabric to three times its size.

"Very impressive. I'm happy we found a solution for the clothing problem. How many have we created?"

"That's the thing. The components of the fabric are…more stubborn than you and I combined."

"Oh, no…"

"Yeah, see the problem? We only made enough for one pair." Tony says.

Bruce shrugged. "One is better than none, right?"

"Sure," Lucy agrees, "but how did you manage to manufacture what we have?"

"Lots of energy and at very high temperatures."

She glanced at the fabric sample in Tony's hand before at Bruce. "How hot?"

"Tungsten is at 3422°C, give or take, but our mix of components is at 3700°C."

"How did we manage to get that there?"

"I had it sent to Dr. Richards and he managed to get Storm to blast it a bit, per se." Bruce explains carefully. Lucy paused and furrowed her eyebrows.

Her eyes lit up. "Reed Richards and Jonathan Storm! I haven't checked in on them in so long. Dr. Richards managed to get Johnny to do that?"

"I heard he was curious as to what would happen." Bruce says, chuckling a bit.

"Of course he was. _Of course._" Lucy says as she remembers the files on them. She looked back into the microscope for a moment before slowly coming back to them.

"That's not a good look." Bruce murmurs, watching her carefully as a strange glint in her eyes began to grow.

"Why don't we go on a field trip to the Baxter Building and maybe I can coax Johnny into doing a few more for us? Say, three more?"

Tony let out a loud laugh and shook his head. "You suggested it first."

"I did suggest it first, though I doubt I'm the first to think of it. Let's go up to the CF to see if we can have some company with us; maybe we can all visit them for once."

* * *

With a great deal of persuading and reasoning, the team took a visit down to the Baxter Building just ten blocks from the Tower in their business attire. Underneath the dress shirts and slacks were their suits, in case anything should occur.

A simple flash of their badges at the receptionist sent them up to the 30th floor where they ran into another receptionist, Roberta, an android-hologram. She scanned their I.D.s before calling Reed who answered happily for the team to "come on up".

They were brought to the 33rd floor where Reed had paused his work to greet them.

"It's very nice to see you all again." He sighs, shaking their hands.

"This is Lucille. She's our new agent." Steve offers, noticing the confused look on Reed's face as he shook her hand.

"Ah! It's very nice to meet you, Lucille." Reed says quickly, his confusion turning into sincere joy.

"The pleasure is all mine, Dr. Richards." She purrs, letting a slight electrical current go through the touch to his fingertips. He refrained from any sort of reaction and blushed a bit before smiling back at her kindly.

"The rest of my team should be on their ways-"

A hot gust of wind paused his sentence for a moment as the sudden movement in the air jilted him and his paperwork. His lips were pursed and eyes were shut in frustration when the Avengers team realized what was going on.

"Hey Spandex. Hello, Avengers." Johnny greets, patting his shoulder to put out the flame.

The Avengers members each crooned their greetings and Lucy did not as she continued to chuckle at Reed in his frustration.

"I'm sorry, I don't think we've met before. I'm Johnny. Johnny Storm. Did I mention I'm the Human Torch?" Johnny greets, holding out his hand and inching closer.

Lucy returned the gesture and felt the intentional heat in his palms. Two could play at this game. She sent the same current to his fingertips as she did to Reed before smiling at him gently.

"No, I don't think we have met before. It's a pleasure to meet you, Jonathan. I'm Lucille."

"Lucille," Johnny says, releasing his grip on her hand to let the name roll of his tongue slowly. "Can I call you Lucy?"

"Of course. Whatever is more comfortable to you." Lucy says, as the elevator announces the arrival of people. Sue Richards and Ben Grimm stepped in, immediately brightening at the sight of guests.

"Ah, Tasha! It's so good to see you with the team!" Sue exclaims, walking towards her at a faster pace than what she was going at before approaching the assassin and enveloping her in a hug. Natasha smiled warmly and returned the hug before Sue exchanged greetings with the others as Ben did the same.

The two teams were at their respective sides when Ben and Sue reached Lucy.

"I apologize, I don't think we've met before?"

"That's the beautiful Lucille." Johnny quips with a charming smile.

Lucy nodded. "We have not met before. I'm Lucille, new to S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Ah, you sure you're not one of those HYDRA agents?" Ben asks jokingly. "Oh, I'm just teasin' you. It's nice to meet you, Lucille. I'm Benjamin Grimm but please call me Ben."

"I'm Susan, but you can call me Sue. It's nice to meet you and how intelligent you must be to be able to work directly with the Avengers-especially Dr. Banner and Tony."

Bruce smiled bashfully and shook his head with a farcical look on his face.

"To what do we owe this pleasure to, Captain?" Reed questions.

"I think I should turn the limelight onto Tony and Bruce for this matter."

"And from us to Lucy." Tony returns as everyone turns their attention to the girl.

"We apologize for coming by on such short notice, but we have a bit of a favor to ask of you."

"Go right ahead. Anything for our friends."

"I understand that Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner had a test compound sent over not too long ago to be…heated into a flexible and incredibly durable material. I am happy to inform you that the material was a bigger success than we intended it to become, and we are in need of assistance to create more. It's not a great deal more, but it's for the use of Dr. Banner during conflicts where the team is in need of assembling. All it would require is the help of Mr. Storm." Lucy explains simply.

Reed nodded and Johnny grinned.

"Does he need some advice on sizes for big boys? Because I can give him some advice, you know." Ben jokes, laughing heartily without noticing how uncomfortable Bruce became.

"I think we could do that for you guys easily. Johnny, are you up for it?"

"Anything for Miss Lucy." Johnny says, a flirtatious glimmer in his eyes.

"Great."

"Do you want to set up here, or we can ready for high temps up in floor 34 but if we don't want to do a whole lot of moving around…"

"Would you be okay with doing it up in 34? I know that's where we did it last time-"

"Not a problem at all." Sue assures with a smile.

"So…should we get going so we can move some equipment?"

"Sure, sure!"

"We can just leave that to me." Lucy says.

Ben furrowed his brows and matched the expression of the rest of the Four. "Is there not much to carry over?"

There was a dull thud overhead and the Four glanced up at the ceiling with identical startled expressions.

"All done." Lucy declares.

Reed slowly approached her and narrowed his stare. "Pardon me?"

"Dr. Richards, let me formally introduce you to Colonel Agent Lucille Moon. The Femme Fatale," Tony offers, walking up behind the agent and placed a hand on her back, "one of the only known molecular manipulators in the world."

"Op-Operation Fatale." Sue stammers.

Lucy pursed her lips before offering a short smile. "I'm sorry for the sudden declaration."

"No, no it's, uh, it's okay. Welcome to the industry." Ben says.

"Ben, Lucy has been in the industry for quite a while now." Natasha comments.

"You said she was a new agent." Reed replies.

"New, because she came back again. She was an SSR agent back in the day."

"You mean with Peggy Carter and Howard Stark?"

At this point, it looked as though Steve and Tony had their stomachs stabbed. Twice.

"Yes, but also with Dr. Erskine."

"I'll tell you more about it on the way up?"

"Oh yes! Of course."

* * *

"And thus, I am here." Lucy finishes as Johnny fires the cast from inside the vault.

"So you are how old?"

"I turned 100 yesterday."

"Happy belated birthday."

Lucy bid them a 'thank you' before glancing outside the windows at the bright sky.

"The head comp. technician back at the labs wants a word with us once we get back." Steve declares as he returns to the room from a phone call.

"For what?" Clint asks. "All of us?"

"All of us. He didn't mention why, but I suspect it has something to do with the USB we found from the last HYDRA mission."

"All done." Johnny says as he steps out of the vault, trailing behind him a hot wave of air. He then proceeded to hit on the manipulator as the rest examined his work.

"Wow." Clint breathes.

"I know." Johnny replies with some arrogance in his tone.

"We can't thank you enough, Reed, Johnny. It's really appreciated." Tony says.

"Thank you." Bruce says, nodding at Reed.

"I really appreciate it, _Johnny_," Lucy whispers. "Thank you, Dr. Richards. For letting us use your facilities," she then looked at the rest of the Four, "and for accepting me like it's no big deal."

"We would be wrong if we didn't do either. We've been allies-friends-for so long that it's like seeing extended family."

"And you're welcome to come visit us any time. I'm sure Reed would love to send you through the molecular scan." Sue says.

"Thank you very much. And hopefully we'll be able to offer you just as much. I'm always around if you have trouble with Reece; I've ran into him a couple times."

"We'll keep in touch."


	21. Chapter 20: Monsters

**June 11, 2014**

Together the team stepped into the basement level and glanced around at the grim surroundings. There were scientists and researchers busy at work along with cells along the walls containing inmates. Cells for prisoners of S.H.I.E.L.D. encaged in a thick cement enclosure with a bulletproof panel so that they could easily look out and someone could easily look in. Some of them were mutants, others just fugitives. Some had been genetically modified into villains with superior strength and agility. They knew the tricks of the trade. They were desensitized by the researchers' minds and ways, and their powers were smothered like water to a flame. Agents sometimes murmured '_monsters_' as they walked past, but Lucy knew exactly who they were-they were not monsters, to put it simply. _I know because I was one of them._

Natasha swallowed thickly out of the corner of her eyes as Bruce took in a deep breath. They were here merely to speak to the head computer engineer about the flash drive they saved from the last HYDRA mission, but Lucy was substantially more interested in the inhabitants of the cells. Steve recoiled for a split second as they passed by one particular detention cell and she turned her head to take in what was going on. Lucy immediately slowed down and let the group go further ahead of her as she came to a halt.

A man sat in a metal folding chair crouched over to hide his face with his long disheveled hair. He made no movement aside from his breathing. On him was a white tank top and basketball shorts, courtesy of S.H.I. . A bionic metal arm was on his left and on his right was a bandage wrapped around his wrist up to his mid-forearm.

Lucy wasn't sure if he did notice her and was simply just ignoring her, but he made it so that she had no such idea if he had seen her. None of the researchers seemed to be tending to the prisoners, so Lucy dragged a chair over and sat in front of the glass. He didn't move at all.

"Hi James. How are you doing?"

He flinched at the sound of his name but continued his stare down at his lap.

"Will you please look at me?"

"He won't do anything anyone says, trust me. He's too reactive and unstable." A researcher states, walking by slowly.

She hummed and raised her hand. He looked up at her command and scowled.

"Back off." He growls.

"It's nice to meet you too. My name's Lucy. Have you been here since April?"

James struggled to move his head back down and grunted in frustration.

"That's not going to happen by the way. Have you been here since April?"

When he didn't answer her, Lucy nodded and turned around. "Do you have a file on him?"

"James Barnes?"

"Why do you need it?" Another inquires.

"I would like to look through it."

"Well, Miss Lucy, I can't let you do that. There's no justifiable reason for you to do so currently."

"What if I renewed my license?"

"Your license?"

"My physician's license."

"Sure, but you'll have to have a warrant or something of the sort from Nick Fury."

The manipulator turned back around with a sigh. "Have you been here since April?"

"He has. He won't talk to you aside from words of mortification." The scientist interrupts.

"What's your name?" He looked away and continued to stare at the wall.

"I'm going to have you speaking by the end of July. And I'm going to have you out of that cell by August. If Agent Barton can convince Agent Romanoff to come join us, then I will get you speaking and in the outside world."

"Don't be so confident, Agent Moon. We've had top psychologists and psychiatrists work on him and he has not budged. Not once."

"Don't be so arrogant, Doc. You have no idea what you're dealing with; I do. I _was_ him." Lucy replies, scooting closer to his cell and looking at him carefully.

"Does he ever get out? You know, to exercise or anything?"

"Once a day, three hours at a time with all of the others."

"It's like a maximum security prison here. Only worse."

"It is what it is, Lucy."

A scoff was let out and she continued to scan over him. "Aren't you uncomfortable? What do you get to eat? Where do you use the bathroom? When can you shower?"

"Please stop asking me questions." He requests.

"I know you, James. I used to know you."

He looked at her with question marks in his eyes and she stared back with a smug look.

"How do you know me? Why do you know me?"

"One day I'll tell you these gruesome stories. But I finally got you to talk a little and that's a start."

"Why do you know me?"

"I worked with you on missions and worked against you on missions."

"What are you?" He asks, struggling against my hold on his chin.

"I think you mean '_who are you?'_. I'm your friend-"

A hand was placed on her shoulder and she turned her eyes up to look directly at Steve.

"They're looking for you." He states, staring woefully at the detention cell as if he was staring at an animal in a cage. Which, in all honesty, had some truth to it.

"Why do they need me? I'm not proficient in computers."

"You know most about the mission and what we dealt with." Steve replies and glanced down at her eyes before at the shining star hanging from her neck.

"You are my mission, James." Lucy declares to the ex-Soviet. She gave him a silent look of valediction before she turned to hurry after the Captain.

Lucy had to quicken her steps to catch up to him; he looked more stoic and tense than usual.

"Why were you talking to him?"

"It's been a long time."

"Since _what_?" He nearly spits.

"Since I've worked with him. I was a HYDRA agent once, remember?"

Steve stared at her as she had three eyes and she shook her head no. "I'm sorry. I've never really talked about it."

"You keep too many secrets."

"I'm-"

"You have no excuse. Keeping secrets may keep others out of harm, but in times like this, it does more harm than good." Steve says grimly.

"Tell that to our directors." She mutters under her breath.

There were no more words exchanged between them as they continued closer towards the work station. When they arrived, the technician shook her hand before beginning to speak about what was on the flash drive she salvaged.

"There was a lot of files about the Six that was there, and we're not sure how they did it, but their technological advances are far more than we can start to fathom."

"Of course it is." Tony scoffs.

"We have many of our agents working through the information, but tell me, Agent Moon."

"What do you want to know?"

"Why… why are you in their files classified as an agent?" He asks gravely.

It had not been a full thirty seconds before the agents surrounding them had their guns out and ready to fire, all safeties undone.

"On your knees, Moon."

Lucy looked around at them blankly with a look of shame drawn across her expression. She clasped her hands behind her head as she dropped to her knees. Her skin prickled at the cold sting of the vibranium manacles as her eyes felt the same as her wrists.

"Lucille Moon, you're under arrest for treason, espionage, and conspiracy against the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division. Anything you say or do will be held against you."

"I would like an attorney."


	22. Chapter 21: Trial and Error

**June 13, 2014**

"The court calls the case of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division versus Lucille Moon, case number 78."

"Are you Lucille Moon?"

"Yes, Your Honor."

"Is that your true and correct name?"

"Yes."

"In case number 78, you have been charged with the offenses of treason, espionage, and conspiracy."

Lucy took a deep breath.

"I plead not guilty with counsel, Your Honor."

* * *

"Would you like an appointed attorney?"

"She has one, so… no!" Tony suddenly interrupts. The judge frowned and tilted his head at him.

"...Your Honor." Tony adds.

"No, I have an attorney, Your Honor." Lucy answers, resisting the urge to glare at Tony.

* * *

"As a flight risk to the United States of America and the United States Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, the defendant is to be sent back to The Core basement level maximum security confinement with no bail."

Lucy could hear the loud sighs of her teammates and she too, sighed, before focusing her attention back to the judge.

"I'm sorry, Miss Moon. I will see you in court on June 27th at 0800."

* * *

"What's the timestamp on that document?"

"December 12th, 2013."

"I was not affiliated with HYDRA at that time."

"The timestamp states clearly that you were put on report on December 12th of last year."

"What is today?"

"June 13th, 2014."

"I was not affiliated with HYDRA on December 12th."

"Then you have been affiliated before this?"

"Yes. I was…around 85- or 86-years-old."

"Where were you stationed?"

"Shkhara. There was a small cavity in the mountain-that's where we were."

"Why?"

"I was assigned to the Winter Soldier. I was to work with him in close relations."

"What did you do?"

"We eliminated hostiles."

"Did you kill any S.H.I.E.L.D. agents?"

"No, I did not."

The attorney scrutinized the young agent as she sat handcuffed to the bolted table in an orange coverall with the words "S.H.I. . FUGITIVE" stamped in black on the back. Her hair was somewhat disheveled but neat considering that she had charged with three felonies.

"Why would you even decide to join HYDRA?"

"I was lost."

"Lost? You'd worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. before, Lucy. But you went and worked for the bad guys?"

"Look. It was…late 1999 or 2000 when I joined them. The secure laboratory facility and the freezer they put me in-someone was able to release the locks. That was my previous partner. When S.H.I.E.L.D. found about my disappearance, they began a manhunt. Mr. Dunn, I'm pretty sure you weren't with us back then, but it was a true manhunt. Operation Fatale, it was called. In the midst of that, they shot my partner. All I knew was that I would never return to government duties and keep out of the public and private eye of the United States. So I went to HYDRA."

"You were upset because someone shot your friend and so you went and joined a terrorist organization?" He questions stiffly.

"He was the only person I knew and the only person I cared about. It's like taking your wife and kids and shooting them just because you tried to right a wrong. S.H.I.E.L.D. was deemed a terrorist organization not too long ago. Another country's line of defense can be another country's terrorists."

"I don't understand, Moon. Why wouldn't you just let them take you in? It could have prevented what's-his-name's death, don't you think?"

Lucy heaved a sigh when the attorney continued to take out the 'agent' and 'Colonel' title from her name. "I didn't let them take me because I heard what they did to them. This organization's researchers put my friend through tests that even animal testers would protest. If he found out that I decided to come back after knowing what happened to him, he would not have been pleased and considering that he had the strength of Hulk and the exterior of a regular man, it would not have gone down too prettily."

Three consecutive knocks on the door signaled a guest and the two in the room turned their attentions towards the east corner. The door opened and revealed an officer with paper work in their hand.

"We've got Captain Rogers and the Avengers team wanting to speak to her."

"No-"

"I am permitted two visits a day." Lucy interrupts, wishing she wasn't in orange and vibranium cuffs.

The attorney glared at her before heading out of the room, only to bump shoulders and receive a look that could murder from the Captain.

"Captain Rogers."

"Dunn."

As the Avengers stepped into the room and filled the atmosphere with unusual vibes. _Uncertainty? Anxiety? _Lucy was…gelatinous with exhaustion.

"Lucy. How are you?" Bruce asks. His tone was drenched in a sort of somberness and worry. Possibly with just a hint of disappointment.

"I've been better but I've also been worse."

"We've tried to contact Coulson, but he's been busy at the Playground." Natasha explains carefully.

Lucy paused before giving a shrug. "Thanks for doing that."

"This is the part when you get frustrated." Tony says, furrowing his brows in confusion.

"He's busy. I get it."

"But you need him to testify. He is the only person that can truly do that."

"Sure I need him to testify; he'll be a big help. I also have someone else."

"And who's that?"

"James Barnes."

Steve clamped down on his lip in anxiety and gave a frown.

"He knows I worked with him. I know he knows. I worked with him for an entire year before I quit."

"That's not the smartest idea you've come up with, Lucy." Clint comments.

"I know. But it's better to let him speak for me than to have others who don't know my history all that well," Lucy elaborates. "I'm also looking to speak to the technopath that we rescued from Phoenix-Ariadne Pierre."

"I'll talk to her." Natasha offers.

"Have you had anything else charged against you?" The Captain inquires worriedly.

"I think aside from conspiracy, treason, and espionage, they wanted me for tax evasion, which is absurd because I've been paying my taxes and also did not back then because I wasn't working."

"Why did you join HYDRA in the first place? Maybe if you hadn't you wouldn't be in this chaos." Tony asks suddenly, a strong undertone forcing through his words.

"I had nowhere to go. I was hurt, I was lost, I was unsure. What was I supposed to do, let S.H.I.E.L.D. pick up my pieces again only for them to drop me? Again?" She shook her head no.

"We're going to testify." Clint says.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you testified against me. What have I shown you guys, proved to you? That I can be cruel and vicious? That I can't spend a single minute acting responsibly?"

"C'mon, Moon. It's time to meet your new detention cell." Officer Dunn declares as he nearly takes the door off of the hinges.

Lucy looked at her team one last time and watched as they uncuffed her from the table and cuffed her again in vibranium. He took her away and the team watched idly by, wondering what to do.

Dunn led her back to the basement facility where the inmates yelled out jibes and cursed at her severely, as if this was their way of greeting others. He unlocked the door to the back of the cell before uncuffing her and pushing her in roughly. "Welcome home, Moon."

Lucy stared in front of her and saw the bare minimum. A bed, a sink, and a toilet. And then glass. _I am a monster._

"Breakfast is served at 8AM, lunch at 12PM and dinner at 5PM. Free time is scheduled at 1PM until 3PM. I trust you not to end up outside of this cell."

When he left and she heard the doors slam shut to the basement facility, Lucy sat down on her bed with a sigh.

"Screwup."

Her head jerked up at the sound of a familiar voice and she glanced around quickly. "James?"

"Way to go."

"I didn't do anything wrong." Lucy replies, lying back onto the bed and wondering when things would get better.

"They won't let you go."

"I know." Lucy whispers. She tucked a hand behind her head in place of a pillow.

"I thought you were going to get me out."

"Change of plan. We're going to be postponing that until I can get my voice heard to someone."

"You know him?" He asks after a while.

Lucy paused to wonder what he was talking about but stopped when he continued.

"Captain America." He mutters so softly that she almost couldn't hear him.

"Yeah. Yeah, I do know him."

"I knew him too."

"He loves you." Lucy says as she shuts her eyes and listens to the hum of the air-conditioning.

"Sure."

"I'm going to bring you back to him."

"Right."

"At least you're talking to me now."

Silence followed her last word and Lucy laughed at the irony before turning in her bed to glance out the window and narrow her eyes at the clock. _8:30._

"When is your trial?"

"I think they said June 27th. Two weeks from today."

"Good luck."

* * *

**June 18, 2014**

"Do you remember going into Slovakia with me?"

"I remember the Belarus 98, not Slovakia." Bucky replies quietly.

"That's okay. What do you remember about Belarus?"

"Not much. You just sat back."

"That's…partially true. Well, do-"

"_Number 1001915, you have a visitor. 1001915."_

Lucy glanced up at the intercom, then pulled at her coveralls to check the number to see that it matched. She looked back at Bucky and sighed. "They're early today."

"Let's hope it's not your regulars."

The manipulator nodded and stood from the tables to be taken to the visiting center with three guards. Her wrists were locked in heavy adamantium today as they walked in silence.

The door opened and she focused in on the five plus one people surrounding the visiting table. Tony stood at the sight of her and a guard raised his hand before the billionaire pursed his lips angrily and sat at the insistent tugging of the hem of his shirt; Bruce was the perpetrator.

"You have thirty minutes." One of the guards growl.

Lucy headed to the table and sat down at the head of the table. She smiled at the six visitors. "So what do we have today?"

"We have Steve and Hill ready to testify."

"Any word on Coulson?"

"Nothing yet."

Lucy nodded and Natasha stared at her carefully. "Don't worry, Lu. He'll come around."

"Has any of you spoken with Dunn?"

"He's working on it with the other two attorneys."

"Kemp and Evans?"

"Yeah. I haven't spoken to them since yesterday." Tony replies.

"Agent Pierre, have you talked to my counsel yet?" Lucy asks the guest.

Agent Ariadne Pierre sat up straighter and nodded. "I have my testimony set."

"Is Agent Snyder not available?"

"She's currently working on another court case in interrogation."

"I see. If you can, would you get my counsel to speak with Barnes, Tony?"

"I'll call them as soon as we get out."

"How are you holding up in there, Lu?" Bruce questions, worry lacing his face.

"I'm alright. You don't need to worry about me."

"Are they treating you well?"

"Sure, I mean, it's jail. Prison too, but this is S.H.I.E.L.D. confinement. It's not the worst."

"How's the food? I'm sure it's a whole lot better than Tony's burnt omelettes." Clint chuckles.

"I miss the omelettes and the cardboard meal substitutes. We had so much planned and now I've gone and screwed it all up."

"It's not your fault. No one should judge you based on your past. Especially not you."

"I did a lot of bad things but I didn't expect this to be one of them." Lucy admits. She shrugged. "Maybe I do deserve it."

"Don't say that."

"Have we made any progress on the other files? I need to know exactly why the timestamp states December of last year."

"They're still working on it and all they're finding is more evidence of experimentation on HYDRA Six. They've found more files about you from 2000." Steve says.

"I could-experimentation? Did you say experimentation?"

"On HYDRA Six, yes. Is there something wrong?"

"Did you see what they were experimenting with?"

"No."

"Listen to me, Steve-"

"Your time's up, Moon." A guard declares.

"Find out what they used on them. Come visit me soon."


	23. Chapter 22: Until Proven Guilty

**June 27, 2014**

"It's today."

"I know."

"When will they let you out?"

"Soon, hopefully."

"Are they letting you in civilian clothing?"

"I don't know. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I can be."

"_Number 1001915 and 1001916-"_

"Let's go."

* * *

As the manipulator walked into the courtroom, heads turned and eyes stared. She was still in her orange coveralls, vibranium cuffs on her wrists. She took the spot next to her counsel and glanced at her teammates. They smiled at her anxiously as she turned to look at her attorneys. _Tim, help me._

"All rise. This court is now in session."

* * *

"We call upon Captain Steven Rogers for testimony."

Steve stood and walked over to the front before standing in front of the clerk.

"Take the bible in your hand. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

"I do."

"Please state your first and last name."

"Steven Rogers."

"You may be seated Captain Rogers."

* * *

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

"I do."

"Please state your first and last name."

"Ariadne Pierre."

"Thank you. You may be seated."

"Now, Miss Pierre. How do you know the defendant?"

"She is an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Did you know her personally?"

"I…" She hesitated and glanced up at Lucy. "Yes. I did, once in her life."

"When did you know her?"

"1999."

"Was this after she escaped from the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility where she was held in a large cooling fridge for seventy years?"

"Yes, it was."

"Why did you know her?"

"She was looking for some people to…use her serum."

"What serum is that?"

"The Immortality Project."

* * *

"And after she administered the serum to you and Miss Snyder, did you work with her?"

"Yes, we worked as a triad for a few years."

"Can you recall when those years were exactly?"

The agent looked at Lucy and analyzed her horrified and confused countenance. "1999-2001."

"And in 2001?"

"We were on a mission when something occurred to Agent Moon and she fell unconscious," She explains. "After that, she woke up and it was like she didn't know who we were. She ran away."

* * *

"I worked with her."

"And did she kill S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, ever?"

"No, she did not. Every time we had a mission eliminating agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., she never made a hostile move."

The judge sighed and gave a worried look to the papers in front of him.

"Thank you, Mr. Barnes."

* * *

"Would you begin your closing remarks?"

The clock struck 2PM and a faraway bell was heard, presumably from the middle of the campus.

"_Wait_."

All turned as a man walked into the room in a grey suit and a purplish tie. They all observed as he made his way up to the front of the room.

"Your Honor, if you would allow me to, I would like to testify for Colonel Moon."

"Director Coulson. This is a closed court trial."

"I understand, but this agent is not guilty."

When he stepped into the spotlight and looked around, no one stopped him.

"Agent Lucille Moon has been an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. even before S.H.I.E.L.D. was the SSR. She has been with this organization from the beginning, and yet, we're convicting her of things that she wouldn't even imagine doing. She left us for a brief moment after spending seventy damn years in a fridge because we couldn't trust her. And though she became an agent of HYDRA, she had never killed anyone that was not a hostile of S.H.I.E.L.D."

* * *

"All rise. This trial is back in session."

"Have we come to a verdict?"

"Yes, Your Honor."

"Lucille Moon, please rise."

"On the first count of conspiracy, how do you find the accused?"

"The defendant is not guilty."

"On the second count of espionage, how do you find the accused?"

"The defendant is not guilty."

"On the third and final count of treason, how do you find the accused?"

"The defendant is..." the woman paused to count once again and looked up with anxiety in her eyes.

"Guilty."

"That's insane." Tony growls.

_No, it's not._

"Under the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division Act of 1946, Miss Lucille, I must sentence you to fifteen years in prison as well as a fine of fifteen thousand dollars. I'm very sorry, Agent Moon, but it fits the minimum sentencing. Would you like to appeal?"

Lucy paused, looked up from her lap, and shook her head no. "No, Your Honor. Thank you."

The judge stared at her for a moment and instead of speaking, he nodded.

"Members of the jury, thank you for your time and considerate deliberation. Agent Moon, I wish you the best of luck."

"This court is now adjourned."


	24. Chapter 23: Omelette

**August 1, 2014**

"Did I really do that to you?"

"Yes, you did. You would make me punch the damn bag so hard that you would go flying, and then we'd switch places so you could do that to me."

"I must have been insane." Bucky breathes, shaking his head in awe.

"We were both insane. And then when we got caught we had no idea what we did wrong so they would lecture us."

"You're dumb."

"You're an idiot."

"1001915."

Lucy turned her focus from the soldier back up and saw a man in a guard uniform.

"Come with me."

The facility had a way of keeping the "don't ask, just go with it" system when it came to taking prisoners and bringing them to places. Lucy stood up obediently and let the guard cuff her.

"I'll be back." She says.

"No, you won't be." The guard says gruffly.

"Let me just throw out my trash." Lucy says, grabbing her tray and walking over to the trashcan.

"Take care of yourself, Buck." She mutters quietly, emphasizing her last word.

"Will do, 1001915." Bucky replies. The facility also had a way of camaraderie amongst the prisoners.

The two exchanged a quick look before the guard took her away and into the front lobby.

"Hello Agent Moon. We've got your stuff here, so you can pick out your clothes before you get changed in there." The receptionist says cheerfully. Her disposition was unusually sunny considering that she dealt with prisoners and captives.

"Pardon me?"

"You've been discharged. I will explain everything to you as soon as you get dressed. Hurry, because your escort should be here soon."

Lucy obeyed her instructions and changed before stepping back into the room in her civilian clothing. A glittering chain was at the bottom of the box and she trained herself from gasping out loud. Carefully, she took the chain and clasped it around her neck before running her thumb over the star that hung from it.

"Here are your release forms, and I need you to sign here and here."

The manipulator blinked at the sound of the receptionist's voice before moving to sign the forms. She narrowed her eyes at the release forms and realized who had released her: Director Coulson.

She let out a sigh, but looked through the paragraph of his reasoning. _Formal pardon...innocent...dead in absentia._

Lucy glanced up at the white wall before her in realization. She had been considered dead in absentia after ten months of an extensive manhunt. Because of the declaration, she was not committing treason. It got much more complex after the first few sentences, but she let her eyes trace over his signature and wondered how he had found the time to write the pardon.

"Ready to go?"

"As soon as you sign these."

Lucy looked up and caught sight of the Captain himself as he took the pen into his hand.

"All set. Ready?"

"Steve."

"That's my name. Do you want some help carrying your stuff?" He asks without skipping a beat.

"No, I'm okay."

The two walked out of the facility and into the elevator before she was stopped by a loud warning beep.

"_Access denied. Prisoner 1001915."_

"We can take the stairs."

"I'll clear that for you." The receptionist interjects, rapidly typing on the keyboard before a brighter bell was heard from the elevator.

"_Captain Steven Rogers and Colonel Lucille Moon. Welcome."_

With a word of appreciation, the two pressed the button for the first floor as the door shut.

"Happy extremely belated birthday, Steve."

Steve gave a snort and smiled. "Thank you."

"Did you receive my flowers?"

"They were lovely. How did you send them?"

"I had them ordered before I was incarcerated."

Lucy glanced down at the shimmering cuff that he was sporting on his wrist and resisted the urge to grin. A simple crescent moon was imprinted into the front of the metal. She had taken the time to fuse the bracelet even before her birthday.

"Have you heard the synopsis of my formal pardon?"

"No. Agent May called us to say that Director Coulson had a release for you," Steve replies. "What did it say?"

"The reasoning...was because at the time I joined HYDRA, I was considered dead in absentia by the United States. Not just S.H.I.E.L.D., but also the government acknowledged it. I can't commit treason if I'm dead, hmm?"

"You were considered dead in absentia?"

"As were you, Cap. Only it was more sad for you."

They stepped out of the elevator walked in silence for the remainder of the time it took to return back to the Tower, but the walk was everything but quiet.

Agents waved hello and nodded their heads at them while others stopped to tell Lucy that she was never a traitor in their eyes. And as they did so, her eyes grew glossy and with each agent, they danced.

As they stepped into the lobby of the Tower, Jarvis greeted them happily.

"_Welcome home, Miss Lucy."_

"Thank you, Jarvis. I missed hearing your voice."

"_I am glad to see that you are back. Have you heard the news?"_

"News?"

The TV in the lobby switched channels from its calming music to a news channel.

"_What is this strange girl and why is she with the famous superhero group, the Avengers. What is her affiliation? What is she to S.H.I.E.L.D.?"_

_"Reports now state that this new agent is named Lucille Moon. Government officials state that there are no files on her, but as you can see, pictures state otherwise."_

_"Who is this person? Who is she, and what is she to the Avengers?"_

_"...Miss Lucy."_

"Oh." She whispers.

"How did-"

"They sure are furtive nowadays," Lucy chuckles, "come on. Let's go upstairs. Jarvis, is anyone home?"

"_Although Mr. Odinson is not present, the others are in the communal floor."_

Once they arrived on the floor, Lucy immediately turned off the TV that was broadcasting the news or rumors, whatever it would be considered. The Avengers were delighted to see her again, but worried, as usual.

"How did they manage to get pictures?"

"This is an invasion of privacy."

"You can't just let them-"

"It's okay. I'm okay. I just want a Tony-special omelette and a cup of coffee and a nap before I deal with this." Lucy says, pushing her box further onto the counter.

"You really want an omelette?" Tony asks incredulously.

"Yes, and if you would do that for me, I think I can refrain myself from running outside and declaring my presence to the world."

Tony chuckled and opened the doors to the fridge as Lucy began to dig through her box of belongings.

"There is a box that came for you. It's in your level, but I can go get it for you." Natasha offers.

"A box?" Lucy asks, "I hate boxes."

* * *

"What's in it? It looked pretty formal to me when it arrived." Clint inquires, craning his neck.

"It's my old stuff from the SSR. My dog tags, my dress greens, other junk," Lucy replies. "I guess I'm not in the military anymore, so there's that."

"Colonel Moon, hmm?" Tony ponders, as if he were letting the title rest on his tongue.

"Hey Clint, you've got mail."

"From who?" He asks, taking the envelope from before tearing the top open.

He began to read and once he finished, he tucked it away into the back pocket of his jeans. Natasha gave him a silent look of… something indecipherable so they dropped the topic immediately.

"So I guess I have a lot of work to catch up on, hmm?" Lucy says, letting the dog tags hang from her fingertips and sway slightly.

"Work?"

"I mean, I sure hope you guys saved some stuff for me. Meal replacements, figuring out what further work you want to do with the Iron Legion project, privatizing world peace, maybe resurrect Fury from the dead?" Lucy says, her tone a lengthy drawl.

"That sounds like a plan to me." Tony concedes, picking up the Starktablet from the counter.

"Maybe we'll figure out what they actually used on the HYDRA Six. It shouldn't be difficult, but replicating it might be."

Lucy grinned.


	25. Chapter 24: The Spectrum Squad

"Jarvis, get me everything you know on Agent Pierre and Snyder. I want to know why I can't remember administering that serum to them."

"_Yes, ma'am._"

"And if you would, I want to know who it was we were fighting that made me lose everything I know on them."

* * *

"Jarvis?"

"_Yes, Captain Rogers?_"

"Will you do me a favor?"

"_With pleasure, sir._"

"Will you get me everything you can possibly find on Lucy and her two… ex-partners? I need to know why she doesn't remember anything about them."

"_Of course, sir._"

"And if she decides she must know as well, I trust you not to keep her from the truth, but instead to alert me first."

* * *

**October 4, 2014**

As the Avengers spent time in The Core's gym, Steve and Natasha sparred whilst Clint was in the adjacent room target shooting. Tony sat in front of the mirrored walls with weights in his hands and Bruce sat stretching on a bright yellow yoga mat. Lucy was in her molecular form lifting weight discs. Thor was back home.

"You sure that won't hurt your integrity?" Bruce asks from his seat on the mat.

"It might, but what do I have to lose?" She replies, voice turning more sound as she compacted again. Lucy looked down her arms and legs before shrugging. "I look fine to me."

"Maybe we can have some tests run later tomorrow." Bruce suggests.

"If you're willing to, then by all means."

The door slid open with a sharp hiss before more agents stepped in in S.H.I.E.L.D. grade workout clothes. They were strangely coordinated in clothing varying from orange to pure white.

"There's the Spectrum Squad." Natasha points out as the two take a break.

"The Spectrum Squad. Why is that name familiar?"

"Well, for one, they're Immortality Project subjects of 1970, and they were the geniuses behind Operation Ranch Hand."

"Sorry, but how many people were subjects to my damn poison formula?" Lucy suddenly inquires with a certain steel in her voice.

The team hesitated in answering and she sighed. "It's not a question with a moot answer. How many?"

"Many. Just...don't belabor the fact that you hurt people. You saved many and it's an indubitable fact that you helped many lives."

She turned and looked back at the group of six agents as they made their ways over.

"Hello Agent Moon. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Hi. Why do you know who I am?" Lucy asks, shaking the man's hand.

"Who doesn't know who you are? I'm sorry-I didn't introduce myself. I'm Agent Orange. _Alexander Lawrence_ at your service."

"Agent Pink."

"Agent White."

"Agent Purple."

"Agent Green."

"Agent Blue. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise. Listen, so you guys were Operation Ranch Hand-"

"Creators. Researchers and developers."

"Very impressive."

"Not as impressive as your own research, Agent Moon."

Lucy gave a small smile when she heard them address her using her last name.

"You saved my life." Agent Blue admits.

"What about the side effects? What did you guys-how did you-who administered it to you?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. did."

"We did suffer from side effects, but we've managed to keep it under wraps."

"It varies from hyper-mobility to extreme elasticity, but it's nothing we can't manage. It's better than death." Agent Blue adds quickly.

"Do you know any others who were subjects?"

"I know Agent Love is looking more into being administered, but everything is confidential."

"Orange, we best be getting in our work." Agent Pink retorts. Agent Orange shot him a look before shaking Lucy's hand once more.

"We'll see you later, Agent Moon."

"Maybe if time permits, we can get to talking for real." Lucy says with a smile as she met eye contact with each of the agents. She missed Agent Pink as he stared off elsewhere and glanced back at Agent Orange to give him a nod before they left. Lucy turned around after they had dispersed within the gym to sigh.

"Hyper-mobility and elasticity. _Better than death_." She repeats, leaning against the wall.

Lucy scoffed. "Nothing is better than death. Life has meaning because it's finite."

"Lucy."

She looked up startled from her spot on the ground and realized that the entire premise was quivering, as if she had forgotten that they were there. "I'm sorry."

She stood straight and picked up a weight plate before resuming her workout. No one bothered to mention that it weighed nearly five times as much as she did. It was not long before someone spoke up again.

"Can I ask you a question?" Natasha asks.

Everyone perked up and peered over. "Who?" Tony asks.

"She knows." Natasha says simply.

"You can ask me many things. May or may not respond with what you want though." Lucy mutters.

"Why don't you make things easier for yourself?"

"In what sense?"

"You let yourself walk, you use guns, you don't bother to make an umbrella for yourself when you forget one."

The manipulator let out a deep breath before responding. "It makes me human. It makes me forget that I am a lab experiment. I forget for just a second that I'm an experiment gone wrong when I let myself get wet in the rain. When I let myself get tired of walking or when I fire a gun because the rest of the world does it. Even though I am, in essence, you, Steve, not only can I run as fast as you can, but I can turn a person into what they were before they were even human-" Lucy says, staring at her hands until there was a glowing light in her palm, "energy. I can turn them into the basic units of life just by _thinking_ about it. Because I can do that, I never forget that I'm not human."

_I am a monster._

She broke out into a sorrowful smile but shrugged. "It's okay. Don't look like that. Just because I have a hard time dealing with my past, doesn't mean you guys have to suffer with me."

The manipulator let go of the weight disc and watched it float over to where it originally was on the rack. She paused.

"Bruce."

"Yes?"

"Do you think the Spectrums know the composition of the serum?"

"It's a possibility."

"Do you think they still have the files on the serum somewhere?"

"Also another possibility."

"I thought I had destroyed all of them, but I guess not." Lucy mutters. She leaned against the wall and watched as Natasha and Steve sparred.

"Do you think I could run over and get some blood samples?"

"That could be pushing it."

"Pink did not look happy to see you." Tony comments.

"Not many people are. But if we want to get going with this, we have to get past the differences."

* * *

With six blood samples each with a sticker on it that stated a color for each agent of the Spectrum Squad, Lucy stood in front of the monitors and equipment of R&amp;D.

"How did I do this before?"

"You became an _individual_," Tony replies add he walks in with two mugs of coffee. "And then you went your way and did what you wanted."

"Have we found anything on Fury's version of the administered serum?"

"He didn't change-_do_ a thing. He just let the researchers administer it."

"So it's still mine."

"It will always be yours, Lucy. Now find it again-I know it's in that brilliant mind of yours"

"You're one to talk, Stark."

"Just… let me know if you need anything."

He migrated to the other side of the lab and began to conduct trials of his own works before Lucy turned back and stared at the pile of files on the table.

Before long, she had gone through all of the files and sifted out what she needed. It was unusual that she declined the offer of having a research team with her, but they allowed her to go through with it. Replication was never an easy task.

"Jarvis? Do we have anything that I can fashion a tourniquet with?"

The A.I. went through with her, step-by-step in taking blood with just a shoelace as a tourniquet and needle with syringe. As a crimson filled the tube to 10mL, Steve walked into the lab and jumped at the sight.

"You could have called me!" He exclaims, almost exasperated.

"Hush, dear. Let me just finish what I'm doing." Lucy says, withdrawing the needle from her arm after releasing the shoelace and pressing down on the puncture with a cotton ball. She turned to him in her chair. Her eyes brightened.

"Can I take your sample as well?"


	26. Chapter 25: Thanksgiving

"Hello James."

"Hi."

"I'm sorry I haven't visited you in a while."

Bucky stared at Lucy blankly without another response.

"I'm going to get you out of there."

"Sure."

"I need to persuade some people though and it might not be tomorrow, but I'll get you out of there."

"Jarvis, have you found anything?"

"_I'm afraid not, Miss Lucy. I have run into a few encryptions that I must decrypt before going on._"

Lucy sighed and nodded. "Thank you for the help, Jarvis."

"_A pleasure as always, Miss Lucy._"

"Jarvis? What's going on?"

"_I have found a massive file that could be of great use to us, Captain Rogers._"

"Cap, what's he talking about?"

"I brought Tony up here as well, Jarvis, not that you can't see that already, but-"

"_Great idea, Captain Rogers. I have found a file that seemingly contains everything from Miss Lucy's birth to present day on this server._"

"What's the server on?"

"_From what I can understand, it is on a private server-it is covered in dozens of encryptions._"

"I can see that." Tony murmurs, eyes shut as his Extremis goes to work.

He pauses and looks over at Steve.

"That girl, her name is Ariadne Pierre, right?"

**October 31, 2014**

Lucy glanced up from her novel and then back down. "Did you need something, Tony? You've been standing there for ten minutes."

"It's Halloween. We're having a little party, but you haven't come out of your level for days."

"I don't think I should party."

"Why? Why shouldn't you party?"

"Because I," Lucy murmurs, "am failing. I still haven't managed to find the formula, I couldn't bust Bucky out of prison, I can't figure out what to do with my life."

"Oh c'mon, Lucy. That's not you at all."

Lucy stared at Tony for a good moment before looking back down at the fine text on the pages.

"This is only ephemeral. This is just a slump. What's that syndrome called-YIPS? Let us get you out of it." Tony urges, taking a seat on the bed with her. When she didn't respond, he sighed and scanned his eyes around the room. His fingers glimmered with the gold of his Extremis virus before it transitioned back into his skin.

"What if I told you Bruce wanted to run tests on you?"

...

"How about it I told you that we fixed the meal replacement issue?"

...

"What if I told you Thor was running on a rampage looking for you?"

...

"What if Cap called it?"

"Then I would assemble." She simply says.

"_Miss Lucy, Captain Rogers is calling for the Avengers to assemble."_

"What time is it?"

"_It is currently 8:45PM."_

"Tell him I'll be right down. Oh, and have you found anything on those two agents?"

"_I have 12 out of 36 total encryptions completed."_

"Nice work, Jarvis. Thank you."

"_There is a briefing before suit up."_

Lucy paused and glanced up at the ceiling as if she could see Jarvis. "Why?"

"_It was authorized by Agent May. Captain Rogers is looking to assemble in the communal floor to visit the briefing together."_

And Lucy knew she couldn't defy Melinda. She stood from her 6-day-old spot on the bed and stretched her limbs. Relaxing and feeling the molecules of water and nitrogen on her skin, she phased through the floor and compacted on the communal level.

She should have known, but she had placed trust into Jarvis. There was a party composed of multiple higher-level S.H.I.E.L.D. agents along with the Avengers and even Thor was present.

The manipulator sighed and Tony looked over before his face broke into a wide smile.

"You made it!"

"Did you tell Jarvis to lie to me?" She suddenly demands.

"Of course not!"

"It was me."

All turned to look at Steve who stood at the far side of the room in a dark burgundy button-down. He had a glass of wine in his hands as he shrugged.

"Tony was getting distressed because you wouldn't come down so I called an assemble. What else did he say to you?"

"He told me that Agent May had authorized a briefing before suit-up."

Steve broke out into a resonant laugh and Lucy sighed.

"That's a good one! It got you to come out here, didn't it?"

"I'm going back to my room." Lucy declares, abruptly ill-tempered.

"Oh no you're not! We're making you and Steve have a drinking contest!" Tony exclaims, stepping in the way of the manipulator.

"Oh that's even _better_!" Lucy cries, sarcasm and annoyance oozing from her words. She looked pained and clapped a hand on Tony's shoulder. "I really _don't _want to be here. I will _not _be any fun, so when I am fun, you can drag me to a party. I'll see you in the morning."

Lucy phased through the ceiling this time with a slight whooshing sound.

When she arrived on the aircraft landing of the Avengers Tower, she let the raw breeze flow through her hair and whip past her body. It was as if the air was kissing her skin.

The manipulator could feel the bitter coldness of water vapor on her own molecules and furthermore the strange emptiness of nitrogen along with the weight of argon traces. It was electrifying.

"Time to think?"

"Time to relax." Lucy replies, listening to the reverbations of his footsteps against the steel. The Captain soon stood next to her and handed her a glass of alcohol. She received it with no hesitation or protest and instead took a sip before walking further towards the edge of the landing. He followed her lead and they stood peering over the glimmering lights of the city.

"Kind of dangerous, don't you think?"

"Standing on the edge of a very tall building?"

"Mm-hm."

"I'm kind of dangerous too, don't you think?" Lucy asks, levitating the whiskey out of the glass.

"We all are."

Lucy hummed. "Then I'll catch you. If you fall, that is-I'll catch you."

**November 24, 2014**

"Tony? Tony?"

…

"Bruce? _Bruce-!_"

"Yes?"

"Come here, please."

"What do you need?"

"Look at this."

Lucy made a 'zoom-in' motion with her hands and the small holographics that was projected before her expanded into large 3-D models. The two images looked nearly identical.

"What are they, some sort of chemical compositions?" Bruce asks, spinning them.

"Purple is the Immortality Project, the red is what HYDRA was administered."

Bruce paused and furrowed his brows before pushing his glasses up further onto his nose. "No."

"I know."

"It can't-"

"But it-"

"And then-"

"What sort of language are you guys speaking? Sure ain't English." Clint says as he steps off of the elevator with an arm thrown over Natasha's shoulders.

"That isn't English either, Clint." Lucy quips before turning her attention back to the screen.

"So they-"

"Exactly."

"How?"

"I don't know." Lucy nearly sobs, throwing her hands into the air and pushing aside the holograms.

"We've got a problem on our hands." Bruce breathes, shoving his fingers through his hair.

"What's going on?" Natasha asks, speaking for both assassins.

"We synthesized the Immortality Project serum from samples of blood from the Spectrum Squad, Steve, and I along with scans of Agent Pierre and Snyder, but we also synthesized the HYDRA Six's serum. Look at them." Lucy explains before pulling them back up.

Clint and Natasha stared at the brilliant colors before glancing back at their other teammates.

"They're almost exactly the same." Clint comments.

"Oh, no." Natasha whispers.

"What are we 'oh, no'-ing about?" Steve asks as he walks into the scene of concerned Avengers. Tony was overshadowed by the latter's large frame and looked just as confused.

Bruce began to explain to the two about the similarity between the two serums as Lucy leaned against a nearby table, seemingly numbed by the news.

"And now?"

"We've got an enormous problem on our hands."

Lucy cursed under her breath and tapped her foot impatiently. "But what can we do?"

"We can infiltrate their base. Search for more information." Steve replies with substantial conviction.

"And what, destroy the nearby cities while we're at it?" She interjects, raising her eyebrows.

"Just because you created the Project, you suddenly turn into a pacifist?" Tony questions accusingly.

"Don't you dare call me a peacemonger-I fought for this country. You expect us to go in there and destroy everything just so we can get more information on a serum that we already know about? I created the damn thing; why should we even bother with it anymore?"

"The people are now in danger-"

"Were they not in danger already? This had been a fact even before we discovered it." Natasha says.

"We are dangerous and likely more dangerous than anything else out there. If they fall, we'll catch them."

"When did the ever-so scrupulous Femme Fatale become so meek and pliant?" Clint wonders aloud, staring up at the ceiling as if he was searching for answers.

"I've never been meek or pliant-I've become… oh, what's the word-"

"Jaded," Steve finishes, looking just as weary as the manipulator. "I know."

She let out a sigh and shrugged affirmatively. Her eyes met Steve's and seemed to thank him in a way that none of the others could.

It must have been the age.

"Did you put the pie in yet?"

"The pie? I thought you said add the rye-"

Laughter came from all corners of the living area as various aromas wafted from the kitchen. Thanksgiving was only around once a year, but the chaos that came with it made up for the lack of recurrences.

Tony laughed at his mistake while Bruce facepalmed for the unintended action while Natasha stood near the stove as she stirred the pot and kept her chuckles to herself.

"Steve won't be happy once he hears you put in the rye instead of the pie."

"Unhappy isn't exactly what I would call it," Steve declares as he walks into the room with a grocery bag that had a container of butter. "Did you really put in the rye instead?"

The engineer shrugged sheepishly and watched as the Captain rolled his eyes in amusement. Clint snickered as he placed silverware onto the dining table.

"Where's Lucy?"

"Not back from her mission yet."

"Where did they send her this time? Vancouver?" Bruce asks.

"Whitby. Agent recruitment."

"She's got a way with the people, I'll say that." Tony mutters.

"Do you think this is her first Thanksgiving with family since her service?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if it was."

The turkey sat cooking in the main oven while the rolls and pie baked in the other. The six members of the Avengers relaxed in the living room while the TV idly displayed the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special. The sun was setting rapidly and the fireplace roared with the burning of cedar and pine.

"Do you think she'll be here in time?"

"She told us she was on the flight back this morning. I can't imagine there would be a delay with the S.H.I.E.L.D. flight."

"At least she isn't late for the dinner."

Thor leaned back into the couch and sighed. "The fatal maiden worries me."

"I don't think there is anyone who doesn't worry about her."

Steve took his attention away from the television program and from the ongoing conversation to stare down at the moon imprinted into the titanium of his bracelet.

_I'm sorry I can't be there in person for your birthday._

_I got the chance to make this a little while back, but hopefully _

_the titanium is fused together well. Enjoy the flowers and I'll_

_see you later. Tell me if the bracelet is too tight-_

_I'll adjust it for you. ~Lucy_

His thoughts drifted to think of when she had decided to send the flowers and how she had missed the magnificent fireworks that came that night. Steve wondered if she had taken his necklace to Whitby, but decided that it would have been foolish of her to do so. He forced himself to drop the topic and focused on the fabric of his T-shirt. Steve let out a deep breath and glanced back up at the bright LED shine of the television.

"Only God knows how hungry I am-where's the food?"

All looked over with some form of glee and delight in their eyes to see a fatigued Avenger standing near the elevator, though she had opted to take her way instead of the elevator.

"Turkey should be ready soon."

"Sure hope so. If that turkey isn't at least ten pounds, I will eat both my serving and Hawk-man's serving."

"Oh hell, then I'm eating Tin Man's food."

Tony scowled at Clint and Lucy chuckled as she set her duffel bag down by the elevator door. Steve facepalmed at the sight of her shirt in some sort of embarrassment and flattery.

"In my defense, I took the first shirt offered to me by Agent Hill-and she handed me the only Captain America shirt available," Lucy says, holding her hands up in surrender. Her shirt was a dull heather navy blue with a faded print of Steve's shield. "At least I'm not wearing a shirt with your face on it."

"The news is still hounding S.H.I.E.L.D. about who you are. They're finding more pictures that include you in them." Natasha tells Lucy.

"I'll have to tell them one day."

"Who, the reporters?"

"The whole world, I suppose."

"They'll appreciate it."

Lucy had no response to the comment and merely took in a deep breath before taking a seat on the couch next to Clint.

"Did Agent May discuss with you the Index?" Clint asks.

"Not yet. I don't want to be there."

"As far as I know, they'll have you demonstrate your powers and leave it at that." Steve says. Lucy smiled.

"That won't be all they make me do." She says with a nonchalant shrug and sadness in her eyes.

"Why don't you have Agent Pierre and Snyder do it? You trust them, right?"

"I don't know them all that well," Lucy says. She refrained from mentioning her loss of memory and continued. "Do they Index? Why are they always together?"

"They're Indexing Specialists. And regarding your second question-they're like Clint and I. Partners." Natasha explains, throwing a friendly look at the marksman who was already giving her the same look.

"Maybe they'll do me a favor." Lucy sighs, snuggling back into the couch and feeling the formation of the leather of the couch. Steve eyed her carefully and glanced at Natasha, sharing a silent conversation that all but Lucy caught.

"I'm going to go check on the turkey since we only have a few minutes to go." Steve declares, standing from his spot on the couch.

"Then I'm going to take out the yams." Natasha also declares, glancing around at the group as Lucy looks to be falling asleep in her spot.

"Do not fall asleep before our feast, fatal maiden-Lucy. The fun has yet to start." Thor says, a smile that could rival that of a golden retriever's.

"I'm not falling asleep. I'm just resting my eyes. And my brain." Lucy replies as her words slur.

Steve opened the door to the oven and prodded at the flesh of the sizable bird before shutting the oven. He didn't really mean to check on the turkey.

"What do you know about those two agents?" Steve asks as he turns around and faces Natasha.

"They were administered her Immortality Project _sixteen _years ago. They haven't aged a day since then. They looked frightened when they saw Lucy at their extraction."

"So what are they to her?"

"That's what we need to find out. They were more than just co-workers to her, Steve. Pierre told the jury that." Natasha whispers, rolling up a bag half-full of marshmallows.

"We've-Tony and I-have been digging. Jarvis found something but he's only a third of the way through the encryption." Steve replies.

"Why did they work with her and why does Lucy have no idea who they are?"

"We need to go." Steve says, glancing over at the living area where Lucy seemed to be sleeping soundly.

Natasha walked back in first and grinned at the sleeping manipulator.

"_Why do the two agents know her, but not vice versa?_" Clint signed, staring at Natasha. She shrugged and shook her head. She motioned between her and Steve.

"We should have done more _research _on cooking turkeys." Steve suddenly says with strong emphasis on 'research'. Clint formed his lips into an 'O' to acknowledge what was going on. Tony and Bruce glanced between each other cluelessly.

"We'll have to tell you about it." Natasha adds, looking towards the two scientists.

"Tell me about what?" Lucy asks through a yawn.

"Cooking turkeys."

"Mm… count me out of that conversation. I was in charge of cooking all of the turkeys back when we were home for the holidays. No, scratch that-I was in charge of cooking the chickens."

"Chickens." Steve says, raising an unimpressed brow but with an amused expression on his face.

"It was back when they first started canning whole chickens. They didn't have cans big enough or enough metal to put entire turkeys into cans. So we got chickens instead. Gelatinous, whole chickens." Lucy says, with a look of retrospect and disgust.

"They had that?" Bruce asks quietly but with a similar air of pure disgust.

"They still do. I managed to make it taste a little better, but anything was better than what we got."

The team listened in as if an elderly woman was telling them a childhood memory, and in a sense, it was true.

"We never got the A-rations because we were so far out, but we always got B-rations and C-rations. The guys would never finish their meals because they knew I was different. They knew I ran faster than the rest of them so they would give me their crackers and stale bread. I think that's how I survived those days. I got promoted to colonel-"

"And you were in the military for how long before that occurred?" Steve asks skeptically.

"Hmm…" Lucy ponders, turning her eyes up at the ceiling in thought. "I was in the military in 1915, and I was on a sabbatical on special terms in between the wars to go become a doctor also under special terms. That was 1919. I came back from medical school in '24? And the war started up again, I got the second dose of the serum in '41. I was… hmm, I was active duty for gosh, was that really 21 years?"

She paused. "If you count my time in inactive duty when I was in school, that's 26 years."

Steve burst out into uncontrollable laughter before composing himself and speaking. "If you count the years on the ice, that's at least 90-something years."

Lucy joined in on his laughter as well and shrugged. "That's true. I wasn't declared dead in absentia until I got out and started running. And for you, what, is that 70-something years?"

"I feel like I'm listening to my grandparents talk about the 'good ol' days'." Natasha complains, smiling.

"I'm too young to be your grandmother." Lucy jokes.

"Tell us more about your culinary skills in the days of battle." Thor urges.

"Okay, okay. Well, I just tossed everything into the oven because we managed to get a kitchen cleared for Thanksgiving."

"Was this World War II?"

"Oh yeah. The first tragedy I wasn't deployed at all. I just helped with stratagems, even though they never _really _listened to me.

"Tim helped with the stuffing and the mashed potatoes which weren't exactly mashed at all under his supervision. Bill was in charge of the rolls and they ended up a bit more cooked than we would have liked it to be. Linda cut herself opening all of the cans of corn and Jim nearly cut his own finger off chopping the carrots. It was chaotic and not as well done as our mothers probably would have been able to do, but we could all taste home that day. I was on mid-watch duty that night and I could hear the conversations between everyone. That may have been the only day I watched my infantry cry." Lucy recalls. She smiled. "And it was so cold. It snowed the next day and one of the men chucked a snowball at me… so I made him do push-ups. I will never forget that day."

Just as if she were just on time, the kitchen timer rang to signal the readiness of the turkey. Everyone stood to migrate into the kitchen and set the table. Food was passed around the table and placed onto dishes.

Lucy paused and looked up at Steve at the other end of the table. She raised her glass full of brilliantly colored shiraz. "I'd like to propose a toast."

Without hesitation, the rest of the team grabbed the stems of their glasses and looked at her expectantly.

"To friendship which is now more than camaraderie, to the appreciation we now hold for each other, the thanks that we see in each other's eyes, and the love that we feel tonight."

"And also to the glorious feast that stands before our eyes,"

"The justice that we attempt to serve,"

"And to the feeling of family when we're nowhere near our own."

"We have become our own family."

Lucy raised her glass a bit higher with a quiet and dignified 'thank you' as 'cheers' were heard around the table followed by crisp clangs of the wine glasses.

"Let's dig in!"

There was not much talk between the teammates as they consumed their first Thanksgiving meal, as they instead basked in both the robust flavors of the food and the feeling of warmth that was usually only brought by the presence of one's family. _My first Thanksgiving with family. _

About half of an hour must have passed before they were interrupted. As Jarvis spoke, heart rates rose in anticipation and nervousness.

"_I apologize for the interruption, but Miss Lucy, you have a phone call. It is urgent._"

"Excuse me for a minute." Lucy mumbles before standing and letting the chair scrape against the tile. She picked up the Starkphone on the kitchen counter and answered with a short 'hello?'.

All had paused their eating to listen to her speak on the phone.

"Are you sure?"

She sounded calm, but it was always hard to decipher considering there were master assassins and gods in their world.

"Okay. Well, we'll-no, _I'll _deal with that. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thank you."

The manipulator placed the phone back onto the polished granite and headed back to her seat.

"What's going on?" Tony asks.

"Nothing. Let's enjoy our dinner." Lucy insists, picking up her fork and prodding at the remains of her dinner on the plate.

"Lucy…"

It was Steve's typical warning tone but she ignored it and shook her head no.

"I'll let you know after dinner. No need to worry so much-I've got it under control."

As the Avengers got back to their meal, Lucy cut through her roll as she mouthed "_Jarvis, please run facial recognition._" She could almost hear his operating system process her action and begin the task.

"I received a mission yesterday." Clint declares.

"Where are you going?"

"Iowa."

"What for, is S.H.I.E.L.D. making you start a farm in case we run out of food?"

Clint and Natasha shared a discrete look before he continued.

"I have more recruitment on some marksmen."

"When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow morning."

Lucy flinched and stared at Clint. "Clint-"

"It's somewhat imperative that I go." He elaborates, shrugging as he sips his wine.

"Gotta do what you gotta do."

"It's all in our job descriptions, hmm?"

The Avengers rested in their living area as the TV ran another special for the holiday.

"What did the phone call say?" Tony suddenly asks.

"James Barnes escaped from S.H.I.E.L.D. containment."


	27. Chapter 26: Lion

Clint left for his mission the very next day.

* * *

**December 12, 2014**

"Anything, Jarvis?"

"_No recognition at all. James Barnes has become, yet again, a ghost._"

"Thank you." Bruce sighs.

"What the hell do I do with this now?" Lucy asks, holding a small vial in her hand. She stood and walked over to Bruce before presenting it to him.

"If it took a person of my intellect such a relatively short amount of time to recreate this, then imagine the possibilities. Someone like you, like Tony. Reed Richards. Stephen Strange. Imagine that."

"Any progress on the Iron Legion programming?" Tony asks, stepping off of the elevator with a sharp ding to announce his arrival.

"Some, but more progress on the Immortality Project."

"Tell me."

"We did it."

"_She _did it." Bruce corrects with a smile. Lucy held up the vial of golden liquid for Tony to see.

"It only took what, a month and a half?"

"Let me bring this to your attention, Tony-what if it was easier for someone else to recreate it? What if it took them only a month, only two weeks? What if they were smarter, more clever, faster than me?" Lucy asks, setting the vial back into the test tube holder where another four sat. "Someone like you, like Bruce. Reed, Dr. Strange, Hank Pym. Even von Doom. Strucker, for crying out loud!"

"They would create immortals."

"More than the Earth can handle."

"You said there were side effects. What are they?"

"It depends on the person. Timothy gained extreme super strength because he had a very fragile personality. Agent Ariadne Pierre was able to phase because she was a very ephemeral being-she's listed as a person who never dwells upon anything for long. Agent Kinsley Snyder became an adapter. She could control minds and become others because of her previous schizophrenia. Everything becomes enhanced or turned the opposite."

"It can turn good men into bad men."

"It's possible," Lucy replies. She gave a weary chuckle. "And we have no idea who has access to this."

"So what do you want us to do with this?" Steve questions as he suddenly makes his way into the scene.

"We're looking at a global catastrophe here." Lucy mutters, letting her eyes glaze over blankly.

"How? Just because we're going to have a few people who are immortals? What are we, then, Lucy?"

"We're dangerous too, don't you see? We're some of the biggest threats to this world. I have no idea what this serum did to people aside from keep them young for the rest of their lives. The world isn't ready for immortality."

"_I apologize for the interruption, but I must inform you that Agent Pierre and Snyder are looking to commence your Indexing today, Miss Lucy._" Jarvis suddenly says, hoping to stop the argument that was bubbling before them.

"Okay," she says after a moment of hesitation, "I'll be there."

Tony glanced at Bruce and Bruce at Steve as she gathered her stuff into a pile.

Lucy left without another word but merely looked despondent. No one was sure if it had been due to her imminent Indexing or rather the words of the Captain.

"Jarvis, please pull up everything we know about those two agents that are about to Index Lucy." Steve orders quietly.

An abundance of articles come up onto the nearest screen and recordings play from others while scanned documents of files are on another. Bruce flinches at their sudden appearance but steps closer to them and soon stands next to Steve as they stare at the screen.

"_Agent Ariadne Pierre and Kinsley Snyder. Electricity manipulator and phaser, and telekinetic schizophrenic, respectively."_

"How exactly do they know Lucy? Or why are they-you know what I mean."

"_Agent Cipher and Nexus were a part of a team with Miss Lucy. They were under her leadership in '99 through about '01 when they were split. Miss Pierre, Snyder, and Moon were a part of the _Les Femmes Mortelles. _They were involved with S.H.I.E.L.D cases that were of rising threat under the direction of Director Nick Fury. Due to their extraordinary chemistry and cooperation, they were kept together but a secret to all but Level 8 and 9 agents."_

Steve watched as Bruce flipped through the files and gears turned in his head while things began to click for him.

"_They encountered Owen Reece in '01 and it became their ultimate, final mission. It states that Miss Lucy suffered trauma and did not recognize them; it is listed as amnesia in the mission file. She escaped and was reverted back to the moment she was released from confines: an adversary of S.H.I.E.L.D."_

"That's why she joined HYDRA." Bruce concludes.

A loud buzzing began in Steve's ear as Jarvis continued to explain further the details of the manipulator's past. He felt paralyzed and was overcome with a numbing kind of emotion. How could he have not been so oblivious? Moreover, how dare he be so insensitive?

"And she did administer the serum to them?"

Jarvis responded with an affirmative but Tony responded with a twisted facial expression.

"If she doesn't remember that she gave them the serum, then why is she so adamant that it's so corruptive?"

"Tim," Steve states shortly, "because she loved him and she did it to him. Lucy hates hurting the people she loves-she hates people who hurt her loved ones."

"She's protective," Bruce deduces. "Just like the rest of us."

"So you're saying that she's freaking out over this goddamn serum because she loves us?" Tony asks, finding the matter seemingly farcical.

"It's _her_ vice, Tony."

* * *

The chair creaked a bit and she stopped all of her movements with an attempt to keep absolutely still.

"Hello Agent Moon. How are you today?"

"I'm great. Thanks for asking," Lucy responds coolly, "how about yourselves?"

"Same old, same old."

"It's nice to have someone to Index though." Agent Snyder adds.

"What are we starting with?" Lucy questions, wanting desperately to finish the ordeal as quickly as possible.

"Just some questions."

* * *

"Tony-"

"Extremis, I know. I just don't like talking about it. Or using it." Tony replies.

He shut his eyes and the other two Avengers stood idly by and watched as files and folders and articles and videos and recordings flew by their eyes in an instant. Everything halted at once before there was a large encryption glaring at them. Jarvis was nearly complete with the encryptions; he had had a few distractions from Tony and the other Avengers.

Tony sighed.

Steve and Bruce daren't talk but instead allowed him to continue with his explanation.

"I've never seen such a strong, such a complex encryption for something that could be so simple."

"The simplest things in life may be the most important." Bruce murmurs.

"This is everything S.H.I.E.L.D has ever had on The Femme Fatale. She just deleted it from their system." Steve explains. Bruce hadn't been there when Steve and Tony got the update about the file from J.A.R.V.I.S.

"But whatever gets out onto the nexus of the Internet will never fully disappear."

Tony narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. "Ariadne Pierre is all over this."

* * *

The blood pounds in her ears while pain cracks at her skull at a steady fifty-five beats per minute and she can't help but wonder if this was really her calling.

Her fingertips tingle and she can almost feel the vibranium comply with her will, but it never does and merely sits on the table in all of its cold glory. To the right of it is adamantium but the feel of its molecules are shockingly chilled and more so, sharp. Painful.

Deep in the back of her mind she knew heavy metals such as vibranium never obeyed her wishes, and seeing as though it was sometimes difficult for her to manipulate tungsten, asking her to continue on with vibranium was like asking an infant to read Dante's _Divine Comedy. _In Italian.

"Okay, Agent Moon. Don't strain yourself."

Lucy let out the breath she was holding and almost felt her chest rattle within her. The water in the air was sparse but she was thankful for its bitterness.

"I think it's time for the External Evaluation."

"Pardon me?"

"Ex-Eval takes place a little ways from here to see how far yours powers extend to."

"Where are we going?"

"New Mexico? Sacramento?"

Agent Snyder hummed. "Your pick, Cipher."

* * *

Lucy arrived back at the Tower after the sun had set and the stars had been projected into the night sky. Stars were often sparse in New York, but they were lucky enough to see just a handful.

"How did it go?" Clint asks, a bit tense from the news he had just heard.

Natasha was better at looking calm-normal-but she felt the same, if not more overwhelmed. Tony had, with the help of a handful of Stark Industries' R&amp;D scientists and Jarvis, decrypted the file. Everything that there was to know about the manipulator was disclosed to the Avengers team.

"I guess it went alright. I'm waiting for the results. It's far more extensive than I imagined. I was to go to Sacramento, but they just kept me in the state." Lucy admits, glancing at Bruce who was sitting at the head of the dining table. His hands cradled and mug of tea which was probably warm at one point, but Lucy could see the lack of movement in the drink. His eyes were nearly glazed over and she knew that look. She _absolutely _knew that look.

"So what's the big news, hmm?" She asks, folding her arms.

"What are you talking about?" Tony asks.

"You look like you just saw a ghost. Or fifty ghosts."

"We're just not sure what to do with the looming press." Natasha explains simply.

"No, that's not it. You learned something. What did you find out?" Lucy inquires further.

Her eyes scrutinized the eyes of her teammates and listened to the beating of their hearts. "I know you're lying about something. You're keeping something from me; I can hear it."

An uncomfortable silence settled upon them as she glanced between everyone carefully. There was a sharp ding of a notification bell before Jarvis spoke.

"_Miss Lucy, your Indexing results have come back."_

"Can I see them?"

The nearest tablet lit up brightly and instead of walking over to the coffee table to grab it herself, she moved her index finger an inch. The tablet moved slowly over to her. Bruce flinched.

"What does it say?"

Lucy doesn't respond for what feels like the longest time, but soon does, softly. "I… plead the fifth."

"What's your Index? Have they changed the scale?"

"I don't think it matters anymore. I'm on the Index." She says.

The tablet shut off and flew back to where it was originally. Tony looked like he's thinking, and Lucy knew he was searching through the database to find the document. His heart beat at an irregular rhythm and she couldn't decide if it was because of his concentration or if he was still lying to her.

"We have a mission notification. Monday, Serbia." Lucy declares.

"Serbia?"

"Haven't we been there recently?"

"Yes, but apparently we're going."

"_Omnipotent_..." Tony whispers.

"Tony, stop." Lucy says. Her eyes lost their light and looked dimmer than ever while the dark shadows under her eyes seemed darker.

"You're omnipotent. You know who else is omnipotent?" Tony asks rapidly, "Owen Reece. Owen Reece is omnipotent."

Natasha hummed and let her hand rest on Clint's leg anxiously.

They knew. She had no idea what they knew, but they knew something.

Was it possible that her secrets were spilled? Or rather, what was left of her secrets? What did they know?

"Who is Owen Reece?" Lucy inquires carefully. Her head pounded as if she was trying to manipulate vibranium.

"Oh, you don't know?" Tony replies. His tone was deadly, more so than cyanide, than Death herself.

"No, I don't. Who is he? Should I know him?"

The act that Tony was putting on was the greatest risk they had taken since attempting to reign in The Femme Fatale. He… he was prodding a sleeping lion.

All of the memories that were buried in the history books for The Femme Fatale were within that lion.


	28. Chapter 27: Christmas

**December 25, 2014**

The dots of white fall slowly down the ground and they remind her of herself. It's just slush that would be water by morning because New York never really had White Christmases.

Lucy had been grounded ever since her Indexing, not in the sense that she was a teenager that had committed a wrongdoing, but in the sense that she was a bird caught in a cage too small for flight. Or rather, a box.

The fireplace was down to a dull roar and there were a few strategically placed candles around the room to create a warm ambiance. Lucy sat on the couch with a blanket around her shoulders and a limpid glass of red wine in her hand.

The rest of the team had left for first Serbia, followed by Poland. She had sat and watched their vitals, listened to comms, and made a fool of herself in her mind.

The night was young, but the sun had bid farewell long ago to leave the Tower chilled and dark. Lucy had sent everyone home for the holidays and didn't expect them to be back before the New Year's. She didn't expect her team back before the week was over either.

She was worried, as always, being the protective team member she was. She wasn't present to make a fire or to make them warm or to melt the snow. She wasn't there to make a shield around them or to tell them stories that they could fall asleep to. She wasn't there to-

"_Miss Lucy, are you alright?"_

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Lucy inquires as he breaks through her thoughts.

"_Your blood pressure and heart rate are rising."_

"Just a little worried." She admits.

Bringing the glass to her lips, she let the cool liquid touch her tongue and glide across her taste buds like a shock of electricity. When she set the glass down onto the coffee table she felt a pang of loneliness and realized that she hadn't remembered such a feeling until now. Maybe they were her family now. Or maybe they were just becoming too familiar.

"Jarvis, do you know what happened to Glenn Miller after the war?"

"_He became Missing in Action in 1944."_

Lucy sighed. "Do you...will you play me 'Moonlight Serenade'?"

Jarvis commented that it was a delightful choice before proceeding with the track. The manipulator stood slowly and imagined her bones creaking with age but instead listened to her heart beat steadily.

Her eyes shut as her ears tuned into the music and in that moment, she lost herself and fell in sync with the slow beat.

Her fingers graced another's and her eyes felt no desire to open again in an attempt to enhance her other senses as they responded to the melody. Lucy heard something, maybe it was an inquiry for permission, and she hummed but couldn't decipher what it actually was.

Fallen into the music and away from her over-engaged mind, Lucy was lost and wandering, almost drowning in a flood of notes, timbre, and emotion.

It had never been so evident that she had been so damaged. With such dry cheeks and a pretty flush to match the biting weather, she had never looked so fragile and bruised. His eyes stung with the grief of not only his heart but hers.

It had never occurred to him what it could and should have done to an average person's psyche, yet it had also not become obvious to him what it had done personally to her. Her palm and fingers were tender and warmer to the touch due to the serums racing through her veins. The hand laid upon her waist grew tighter and drew her closer. The distance grew shorter, and the heat of their bodies rested between them comfortably as they danced to the music.

The song ended with a flourish from the band but they didn't stop and continued with their dance. Her heart warmed with the closeness of his and she could hear the offbeat of her rhythm slowly matching to his. Both hearts beat slower and in sync with one another as the music continued into a Frank Sinatra classic that was released after they had both been incarcerated.

"_Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars."_

She leaned up and opened her eyes to meet his. Her lips parted and she began to mouth the words, "_In other words, hold my hand."_

Steve smiled and returned the gesture softly: "_In other words, baby kiss me."_

As they leaned into one another, their eye contact broke and dissipated, "_In other words, I love you."_

"_Fill my heart with song and let me sing forever more."_

_"In other words...in other words...I love...you."_

"When did you get home?" Lucy asks in a hushed tone.

"Not long ago."

Lucy let her eyes trail down his torso to spot a sizable blotch of burgundy on his abdomen seeping through his Under Armour shirt. What should have been a dusty gray was stained with blood from a probable shot taken by an agent.

"Why didn't you go take care of this first?" She asks suddenly backing away as pictures and snapshots of memories flooded her mind like a tsunami.

"I needed to take care of something else." _You, _Steve thinks.

"Where's everyone else?" Lucy questions. She guides him towards the bathroom with her hand against his back and he soon can't feel the dull ache or the sharp stabbing when he moves.

"Tony is in R&amp;D with Bruce but he has to fly out to Malibu tomorrow. Nat and Clint are probably in their living quarters and Thor is, well, you know where he is. He hasn't been around for a while."

"I've been doing some research on Owen Reece."

They hadn't touched on the subject since the day Tony had first mentioned him. Even then, she had been confused and wandering. Lucy had no idea why or how she administered her Immortality Project to Agent Pierre and Snyder. A migraine settled in every time she tried to make sense of her past actions, and worsened as she continued.

Steve stiffened as they reached the king-sized bathroom and sat on the toilet cover. Lucy pulled over the first aid kit and knelt down in front of him.

"He seems like a terrible person. I know Dr. Richards knows more about him than I do. But he sounds like me."

"What does he do?" Steve asks as he peels his shirt back and lifts it off completely.

"He can manipulate molecules. He can't turn into anything himself, but he can make buildings dance."

"So can you. You can move mountains."

"He's dangerous. It's been years since we've encountered him."

"Thirteen years." Steve adds. He cursed himself inwardly.

"Yes. How did you know?"

"He's been on the wanted list for S.H.I.E.L.D." He explains.

Lucy paused and listened to his heart beat steadily. "I don't know what I was doing with those girls, but I apparently have met him. Encountered him. Amnesia...it's hard. I gotta figure out what I've done."

She glanced over his torso and winced. There were cuts that were slowly healing and bruises that were still purple. Her hand grasps the cold cotton ball drenched in isopropyl alcohol and dabs it over the freshest cut on his shoulder.

Steve gasps and clenches his fist before letting the disinfectant cool his skin. The coolness takes the sting away but he wonders if it was just the kindness of her heart.

"Did you shower at the facility? You smell like yourself."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"Mm," Lucy hums, reaching for the antibiotic ointment, "like cologne, mostly. Sandalwood, is it? And just, clean. You're traditional, not that much different from what the guys from the base used to be like. I can usually feel the molecules in the air."

He grimaced as she approached the substantial wound on his stomach. A thin pair of forceps grabbed the bullet from the cut. Lucy glanced up before sitting back a bit. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you." He replies without skipping a beat.

"Will you let me try and heal you?"

"Heal me?" He seemed to consider the thought. "As long as you don't kill me, and even then-"

"Don't say those kinds of things," Lucy replies. "Will you stand for me?"

He did as he was asked and she followed suit, only to kneel closer and grace her hand around the wound.

"I can't tell if this will hurt or not, but it shouldn't."

"As long as it doesn't hurt you." Steve assures.

Lucy chuckled shortly and tilted her head a bit in thought. Her hand hovered over the exposed flesh and Steve felt an unfamiliar tingling instead of the original pain. He watched as her eyes narrowed in concentration and her hands shake with intensity. His head begins to spin and he wonders why he's never noticed the everlasting glisten in her eyes.

"Steve?"

"Yeah."

"When's the last time you ever went on vacation?"

"Years, probably. Decades."

"When's the last time you cried?"

"Not long ago." He admits, looking down.

Lucy stood and tilted her head up to meet his gaze. "All done, Cap."

His hands immediately reached for his cut but instead found nothing but skin. Looking down, he saw not only skin, but such that nearly matched his skin tone that could probably fool anyone who questioned it.

"Wow." He breathes.

"Did it hurt?"

"Not at all."

Without another word, she healed the rest of his cuts and scratches as her brows furrowed slightly and her palms hovered over each wound.

"What time is it?" Steve asks, searching around with his eyes for a clock.

"_Approximately 9:56_." Jarvis responds with warmth in his voice.

"It's late," Lucy comments, "but it's still Christmas, hmm?"

"Merry Christmas, Lucille."

"Merry Christmas, Captain."


	29. Chapter 28: New Year

**December 31, 2014**

"I'm sorry-what did you just say?"

"Riley Dugan is a subject of the Immortality Project."

"I'm so sorry-_who_?"

"Riley Dugan. He's related to Dum-Dum Dugan. I thought he was just a subject of the Infinity Formula, but he's not." Lucy explains, standing up from her chair and looking baffled.

Bruce gazed at her expectantly and she began to speak:

"He seems to have shown no side effects from being administered the Immortality Project. How did that occur when every other subject of the IP received side effects in addition to the delayed aging?"

The nuclear physicist raised his eyebrows in comprehension and suddenly found the manipulator holding onto his shoulders staring directly into his eyes with a look of sheer fright.

"Someone figured out how to fix the Project."

* * *

"Hello, hello-welcome."

The lights were dim, but bright enough so no one had to look across the room and squint at who was there. A selection of soft and palatable jazz played in the background as the guests talked to one another and smiled while others laughed at jokes for courtesy's sake.

Most everyone had a glass or bottle of some sort in their hands as they stood almost comfortably in their semi-formal attire and waited for the highlight of the night.

"Ah, Cap! It seems that you haven't introduced me to someone."

"It does seem so. Sam, this is Miss Lucille Moon. Lucy, this is Sam Wilson."

"Nice to meet you, ma'am."

"The pleasure is all mine. And please, call me Lucy."

"Uh, Lucy, this is the Falcon. He's currently working on the missing persons case." Steve elaborates, catching her eye as he mentioned the case.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Sam. I hope that everything is going well?"

"Not as smoothly as I would have liked it to be, but we're doing our best." Sam replies, gesturing with his half-full glass of champagne.

"I don't expect much less." Lucy states with a smile.

"And I assume that The Femme Fatale is hard at work on the mystery behind the Immortality Project?"

Lucy stiffened, not too visibly, but forced a tight smile. "Of course. Has… Coulson convinced you to join S.H.I.E.L.D., Sam?"

Sam only offered a sheepish smile for an answer and Lucy took a sip of her wine.

"I highly suggest that you do."

The manipulator suddenly found her skin buzzing and took a quick glance around the room for hostiles. Someone she was anticipating had joined them.

Steve took note of her glance-around and leaned into her personal space. He hummed and she shook her head as Sam stared with interest.

"Fascinating how you can communicate with one another without even speaking." He comments.

"Oh, it's not too difficult to establish when you spend most of your days with each other," Lucy quickly remarks before spotting the Spectrum Squad. "I think I need to excuse myself and speak to our new and _colorful _guests."

The Captain quickly spotted the group and nodded. "I think it would be wise."

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Sam. I hope to work with you soon." Lucy states, grinning.

"And to you, Agent Fatale."

The manipulator made her way through the guests and tried to blend in naturally as she moved from group to group.

"Where are you going?" Tony whispers, when she arrived next to him to smile and speak to Pepper.

"The Spectrum Squad is here. I need to talk to them," Lucy whispers back. "Miss Potts, you look lovely tonight. Navy is a beautiful color on you."

Pepper chuckled, completely flattered, "Please, call me Pepper. You're too kind."

Lucy smiled and was inclined to stay just to speak to Tony's charming CEO. She smiled brilliantly and Lucy couldn't help but grin wider.

"Is Tony behaving well in the Tower? I'm so apologetic that I can't stick around to keep an eye on him-the company is just-"

"He's wonderful. You don't need to worry about a thing," Lucy assures, "I'm so sorry, Pepper, but I think I need to introduce myself to the guests that just arrived."

Pepper gave a soft smile and shook her head. "I don't mind at all. I hope I'll get to speak to you more on a personal level sometime?"

"I promise." Lucy replies.

The two watched as she made her way over to the Spectrum Squad and Pepper gave a contented sigh. "She's definitely something."

"Don't tell me you're feeling seduced by The Femme Fatale."

"She's a wonderful person."

Tony took a sip of his wine and nodded. "That she is."

* * *

"Agent Orange. It's nice to see you here tonight."

The man turned and was startled, but delighted to see The Femme Fatale standing next to him.

"Agent Fatale! What a lovely surprise. And how beautiful you look tonight."

"Oh, no more foolish words, Orange. Tell me, as I must know more about the Project-who administered my work to your group?"

"It's nice to see you too, Fatale." Agent Pink nearly snarls. Lucy eyed him carefully before turning her attention back to Orange.

"Before we get into that discussion," Agent Orange says, almost uncomfortably, "how about we just, get to talking? You hardly know our actual names."

Lucy stood back and allowed them to begin. Names flew past her and she made note of the evident hostility that Agent Pink-Kirk Strange-and the admiration that Agent Blue-Larson Darius-held for her.

"Who offered you the Project?"

"It was a scientist under the direction of Howard Stark." Agent White-Bernard Malec-explains.

Lucy nodded and weighed the thought. How could she blame a dead man for something he did all of those years ago?

"Do you happen to know if anyone, and I mean _anyone _tampered with it?"

"It was the original Immortality Project, Agent Moon. The one you created, the one you further developed, and the one you wanted hidden away from the world." Agent Green says.

"Did Howard begin all of this?"

"As far as I recall, yes."

Lucy let her eyes shut and let out an exasperated sigh. "Howard, _no_."

"All we offer is appreciation for the Project, Lucille." Agent Blue says devotedly.

Agent Pink coughed forcefully and Lucy knew exactly what had occurred. But she let the idea go to avoid a heinous night.

"Yes, and well, thank you, but… nothing. Nevermind. Let's just enjoy the night, shall we? A new year is upon us." Lucy says, forcing a smile and gesturing with her glass.

"Sounds like a good plan, yes?" Agent Purple agrees, looking around at the team.

* * *

"Twenty! Nineteen! Eighteen!"

The lights were almost completely shut off and the level was decently illuminated by the city lights as they waited for the new year to begin.

Lucy stepped back and bumped into someone before she whipped around to offer an apology.

"I am so sorry- Steven! I apologize. It's a little hectic in here." Lucy says, breathless.

"I agree. I don't know why New Year's Eve is such a big deal, to be perfectly honest." Steve replies. He took a drink of his wine, shrugged, and observed the manipulator's reaction.

"I don't think so either. Maybe it's symbolic, but likely just another reason for the people to throw parties."

The two stood and stared out the windows of the Tower as the guests chanted, not much louder than a moderate speaking volume.

"Five! Four! Three!"

"Here's to another, fresh new year." Lucy whispers, clinking her glass against his.

"One!"

_Were they supposed to kiss? Was that still a thing-_

"Yes, indeed." Steve murmured, replying not only to her statement, but her inward questions as he leaned down and kissed her.

Her first instinct was to let her eyes open wide and push him away, but instead found herself allowing the action to occur and placed a hand over his heart.

Clint kissed Natasha on the cheek and pulled away to see his two leaders celebrating the New Year.

"You owe me five bucks."


End file.
